Thursday, January 7, 2010 9:45pm

Hello dearest friends,

I am hoping that one day soon, I will update with good news...

I believe that I last updated you on the 5th when they took Aidan to surgery to perform the craniotomy and remove part of his cerebellum.
After that surgery, he was moved to the ICU.

Things were looking very good all day on the 6th...Aidan was responding to our voices and opening his eyes to look at us. All was well until about 5pm. His symptoms began again. Another MRI was performed which showed a pocket of fluid filling up behind the cerebellum not allowing it to descend into the space the surgeons made for it the day prior. Aidan was, once again, immediately taken back to surgery. They took out more the the bone in the back of his head and removed even more of the cerebellum (1/3 in total of the left hemishere). They added 2 more drains so that fluid does not accumulate again in the posterior fossa.

Aidan remains in the ICU. The neurosurg and neuro-oncology team are unclear as to why Aidan's cerebellum has swollen up in the manner it has. It was decided today that he will begin his chemo tomorrow. We have run out of surgical options to create more room for the swelling and time is of the essence. The conditions for chemo are far from ideal. Aidan has 2 extraventricular drains and 1 subarachnoid drain in place and is also on a ventilator. His risk of infection is extremely high. However, at this point, it is everyone's hope that it will allow for a decrease in the cerebellar swelling and begin his long road to recovery.
Please continue to keep us in your prayers. I will update you as I am able.

Thank you all for caring, for praying, for hoping....