Road not taken

Mason is improving overall. His belly is looking better and he is definitely more awake. His blood gases have been great and he is currently on extubatable settings. This morning Mason was having seizure like activity. Since he basically didn't receive his medicine at all last week and his phenobarbital levels were running lower than normal they consulted neurology. Neurology decided to go ahead and put on another EEG just to check and see what exactly was going on even though it all made sense as to why he would be having what they call "break through" seizures. Infectious disease came up and confirmed that the infection growing in the cerebral spinal fluid is pseudomonas and that even though the white blood cell count had dropped from 2,000 to 500 in one day there was still a lot of the bacteria growing out so the reservoir needs to go ASAP. Since it is a foreign object in the brain it will act as a pocket for infection. They are going to remove it at some point tomorrow. Please pray that this infection will go away and that Mason won't get a fungal infection from being on all of the other antibiotics that he is on. Neurology did come up and since they have put the EEG on he has NOT had seizures so that is good news. Praise the Lord! He is breathing great and is improving in the right direction. We just have to get the infection in his head healed up. We are hoping and praying that this will happen soon. I will update when I know more as to a time for the removal of the reservoir but we do know it will be tomorrow. Hopefully we will know more about the testing of the CSF as well. Thank you all so much for your continued prayers. We truly believe that is what has got Mason through all of these difficult times but we are praying for easier times ahead.

This poem by Robert Frost has always meant so much to me since high school. I truly feel that this describes our journey with Mason. His road has not been easy but hopefully soon it will be "all the difference."

The Road Not Taken by: Robert Frost

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth;         5   Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same,         10   And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.         15   I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.         20