Super Busy, Super Spectacular Weekend

We had such a busy, great weekend. Saturday we were able to visit the Amazing Pizza Machine with Matt's twin brother, our nephew Issac, and friend Heather! I was really worried about all the lights and Jayen's seizures, but just kept a very close eye on him. He was a little disappointed when he couldn't do all the rides that Dalan and Issac did, so Uncle Marcus improvised and gave Jayen a similar ride! I think we all had a little too much fun!

 

 

As soon as we got home, we had an impromptu family gathering. Uncle Marcus came over to our house and Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle John came over too. It was nice to see daddy sit down and play cards with his family. Glad they were able to stop by. It doesn't happen a lot.

 

Sunday we got up bright and early to be one of the first ones at the zoo with our Amazing friends the Loftus'! God truly has a plan for everyone and I know I was put at Rumsey to meet Renee (and Nikki)! I don't know where I would be without her. Our kids have so much fun together and it is nice to help Renee out with Mike sometimes too. It really helps take a load off for her! We love them all dearly. I hope we get many more days like this before the big move. And they will have to come visit us as often as they can.

Brilyn's first train ride. And Mallory and William's too!

 

It was such a nice day out today. After naps we tried flying a kite in the back yard before daddy decided it was time to take off the training wheels. He strapped Dalan up and off they went. We followed them to the park and were so impressed. Dalan was a little hesitant at first but was off riding after only a couple tries. I'm so proud of both of them!

Our weekends with family and friends are dwindling, but we are trying to make the best of all of them!

First day back at school

So we bit the bullet and finally got the ball rolling on Jayen going back to school. I'm so nervous about this. Jayen, Brilyn and I were able to visit the classroom after dropping off Dalan and before the rest of the kids got to school. I think it was a nice transition for Jayen to be in the classroom and experience things again before everyone else arrived. Matt was able to take a little time off and pick up Brilyn so I could stay in the classroom and help figure out our new Jayen. There are so many things I worried about with him being back in the classroom. I know he is in great hands and I keep focusing on that. But this mom will be bitting her nails the entire time he is there!

 

 

Jayen's classmates were so excited he was back. It was the cutest thing ever. (I'm pretty sure his teachers were just as excited as the kids too.) We really missed everyone! We are so blessed to have such a wonderful school family.

Happy Purple Day!!!

Today is March 26th and it is National Purple Day for epilepsy! We tried spreading the word and awareness. We pulled out our purple and celebrated. We have all been on this crazy journey together. So we finished off the day with some delicious, purple Eileen's Colosal Cookies!!! YUMMMMMM!

 

Very intimate and personal pictures

I posted some pictures on the sidebar of the blog. These are very intimate and personal pictures of our time in Minnesota. I think they are a great way to see the crazy journey we went through. They break my heart watching them. Please know these are not censored and show everything. There are 425 photos so take your time!

Can I just answer everything with "I don't know!"

Can I just answer everything with "I don't know!"? I'm so lost and feel like there are so many questions coming my way. I'm supposed to gather all kinds of information for Medicaid so that Jayen can stay on the waiver, but feel I don't know where to start. There are so many forms and so many people I need to contact to get those forms and forms I have to fill out so I can get more forms. I'm lost in paperwork and trying to swim my way through it. I'm also trying to figure out Jayen. Who is this new kid? We have had two seizures since surgery and both have been afternoon seizures. I'm not sure what to do about him going back to school. I know I need to figure it out, but I have no clue what to do. I think he still needs almost constant supervision. I'm worried about his stamina during the day, but don't know whether he should start out for an hour, every other day, or if he should just wait altogether. There are so many questions and not a lot of answers. I am just going to start saying, "I don't know!" and make Matt answer everything!!!

FOUR years on this Crazy Jouney

Four years ago today Jayen had his first seizure. This has been one long and crazy journey. We had a tough time finding purple balloons (or any color balloons) in Yankton after Ryot's birthday party. We have let balloons go a few times now and Jayen has never had a problem with it before, but for some reason he was very upset about this time. He screamed and cried from the second I cut them off the weight to when we went back inside. I like to tell the kids letting balloons go is our way of sending messages to heaven. Hopefully those angels will share our message with God and ask for his help.

 

Please God, take my son's pain away. Take these seizures out of his body and give him a life filled with love and laughter.

 

Another one another heartbreak

Such a sad day today, we were packed and ready to go back to grandma and grandpa's for the weekend. Daddy and the kids were taking one vehicle and heading back early and mommy was going to the dentist then heading there when she was done. I tried calling the kids and Daddy when I finished to see if they thought of anything they forgot. No one answered. I was a little worried since I knew they should still have reception. I received a call back a little later with some news I didn't want to hear. Jayen had another seizure. This one more similar to his regular seizures and longer than the last one at 3 minutes.
I just don't understand. Why did we go through this? Why did Jayen have to suffer? Why did our family have to suffer? If the doctors were so sure they removed all the focus areas then where are these seizures originating from? So many answered questions. I called the doctor's office and talked to the nurse. She assured me over and over again that this is "normal". I wish I would have counted how many times she said that. I think she didn't say more than 10 other words. Apparently seizures can occur for 3-6 months after surgery and still have success. That would have been nice to know before we left, but that seems like a ridiculously long time for his brain to still have seizures. I just don't know whether to have hope that this is really could be the end to Jayen's seizures or if our crazy journey is no where from over.

Shirts are available

On March 5, 2014 Jayen underwent a brain resection to help his quality of life. Two weeks before we left for the hospital, Matt and I designed a "logo" for Jayen and got it as a tattoo. We wanted to always remember this crazy journey we have been on with Jayen. My mom then took the design and made shirts. What a great idea!!! Others started asking for shirts too. So this is how you can you get your own Jayen shirt! If you are interested in purchasing a shirt you can do it through this website. The shirts are $15 each plus shipping. They are available in Youth XS to XL and Adult S to XXXL. This is not a fundraiser even though the company is a fundraising company.
http://www.tfund.com/Jayen

 

We would love for anyone and everyone to join us with their shirts on August 16, 2014 at Shadow Lake Town Center in Papillion, Nebraska for the Nebraska Walk for Epilepsy. This will be our last year doing the walk in Nebraska (at least for a while) so we are going big. Mark it on the calendar and join us!!!

Such a heavy heart

I don't even know that I could utter these words out loud, but I believe my worst fear just occurred. Daddy was home with Jayen and Brilyn while I took Dalan to a friends house to play. I was taking a longer time than anticipated because I was talking. I figured daddy was calling to tell me to get home so I didn't answer. (SHHHHH Don't tell him!) But when he called back a second time, I knew something was wrong. I wasn't prepared for what he was about to say, but in the back of my mind I already knew it. Jayen just had a seizure. I'm so crushed. I'm so pissed. I'm so upset for Jayen and all of our family. Did we really just go through everything this past month only for these damn things to return? What the hell just happened? Why the hell did this just happen? Not even sure what to do or where to go from here.

Uh Oh

Still not sure what to make of this kid. I'm not sure if it is just the medicine, but he just seems so dazed and confused. It really reminds me of the beginning of his seizures. I hope and pray that those are gone forever but I am trying to be realistic that might night be the case. I'm just going to keep an eye on him and see if this gets any better. If not, I'm going to ask for another EEG to make sure there is no electrical activity.
But on the flip side, I can't get over this talking machine. Jayen is doing so well with the repetitive sounds. Before surgery has was occassionally saying words like bye bye, no no, ma ma, pa pa, and nigh nigh (night night), after prompting and clapping to remind him there were two sounds. Now he is doing it without the reminders or claps. Tonight he was even able to do two separate sounds when I asked him to say uh oh. I'm excited to see how fast this speech will improve. Still thinking by the end of the year we will be talking!!!!

Super special day!

I am still not sure how to get use to this new Jayen, but today was the first time I saw such a positive change. Matt and I kept looking at eachother in disbelief and awe. Today started with a great video chat with Jayen's teacher Ms. Shank and his classmates. They were very excited to see him and he was so excited to see them. I couldn't have done anything to give him a bigger smile.

 

 

We were able to stay on the computer and participate in large group with the class. Jayen loved singing the good morning song and saying hi to his friends. I know he misses them so much. We even had the opportunity to listen to the story for the day then Ms. Shank sent it home with Dalan and we got to see it and feel it at home. It was such a great connection for Jayen.
In the afternoon we had the opportunity to watch the class again when a special visitor stopped by. We tried skyping last week when she was in the classroom, but technical difficulties didn't let it happen. Mrs. B, from the library, was the special guest!!! Jayen was waiting for her to play the guitar. He loved the puppy book, but the guitar was his and Brilyn's favorite. This was just such a special day. I'm so glad we were able to do all of this.

 

Sorry Ms. Shank and Mrs. B, but I think the best part of the day (for mommy anyway) was during our surprise spur of the moment trip to the zoo. As soon as daddy and Dalan pulled into the driveway after school we were sitting in the car and ready to pull out of the driveway again. I'm not sure it was the best idea to take Jayen out to such a public place, but it was time for some fun. We brought sanitizer and kept his head covered. It was so nice seeing everyone's smiles. Jayen was so excited the words just seemed to roll out of his mouth. He was saying two syllables with no problem and even got out a few three syllable phrases. It was just so amazing. I really hope this is a look into his future. It was so beautiful! If this keeps up, I can see this kid talking by the end of the year. 

Not sure how to get use to this new life

Life at home has been nothing but a roller coaster of emotions. I don't know how we are going to get through this. Yesterday was so full of unpacking suitcases, laundry, finding places for all the new toys the kids acquired, going through 30 days of mail, cleaning 30 days of dust and grime, and learning how to manage my medically fragile child and give enough attention to the other two who are desperate for mommy and daddy. I'm finding it incredibly hard to keep 6 hands away from Jayen's head. Brilyn has, on multiple occasions, smacked him or head butted him and each time I cringe and cry, hoping and praying that it didn't do any damage. I'm on pins and needles constantly watching him. I am questioning whether everything I see is a seizure or just Jayen "drunk" on the meds. This new Jayen is hard to get used to. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE that he is sitting down playing, eating, and coloring. I love that he isn't bouncing off the walls, but I am wondering when my Jayen will come back. Will he come back? Will he ever be the same boy he was before? I cry every time I look at him because I love it and hate it all at the same time.

30 days of love and support

Oh what a crazy day! We were so hopeful to be getting discharged today that we had everything packed and ready to go before Dr. Ritter even made his rounds. Today marks exactly 30 days since we left our home for the hospital. It doesn't feel like that long though. Our experience at the hospital has been so positive. We have met so many wonderful nurses, who truly are amazing at what they do. We didn't mind being in 5026! We actually enjoyed it. Jayen was loved by so many! People would stop by our room every shift, our walks were filled with people stopping to say hi, they EEG techs would play peek-a-boo with him behind the counter, he convinced doctors, PA's, neurosurgeons and so many others to get tattoos, he had people falling dead in the middle of the floor while playing guns with him. It was never a dull moment! We wanted to thank them all for everything they have done for Jayen and our family. So we bought the biggest candy jar we could find and filled it to the brim. Inside we put a picture of Jayen with the caption, "You all were too sweet! Love Jayen". We are hoping that candy lasts a few weeks so some of our friends on vacation can enjoy it when they return too.

We walked around to personally say thank you to some friends. We are really going to miss them!

 

 

 

We also had to stop and tell Ms. Olivia good bye. Ms. Olivia had grids placed two weeks after Jayen. It was so great to see her positive attitude and great spirits. It was nice to share our journey with them too. We are so proud of her at how brave she is through all of this. I hope that we can keep in touch and see where her journey takes her. We will continue to pray for her and her family. We love you guys so much. Keep positive and know that there is a plan. It might not be the same one you thought it was going to be, but there is one and it is a great plan.

P.S. I hope you stole our room when we left!

 

We did eventually get to see Dr. Ritter and get our discharge papers, and we did eventually tell everyone good bye enough times, and we did eventually get everything packed in the car; living somewhere for 30 days you really accumulate a lot of stuff. So we were ready to get on the road and start heading towards our normal life. But I kept thinking about how normal this normal life was going to be. The really was the start of a new life. A new life for Jayen, a new life without seizures, a new life for all of us. I kept thinking about a conversation Matt and I had the day before. I mentioned to Matt that Jayen is only 4. There could be a time in his life where he doesn't remember having seizures. I don't remember much, if anything, from when I was 4. Could this catastrophic diagnosis we were given nearly 4 years ago really be just a blog post from the past? Could his story, his journey, be filled with normal kid things? Could my kid soon not have to come with a set of instructions? I'm overjoyed at this thought, but so cautious. Cautious that there is still only a 60% chance that this means seizure freedom.

 

The six hour car ride gave me plenty of time to dwell on my thoughts. Not such a great idea! So I called the pharmacy to make sure everything was in place to pick up Jayen's prescriptions as soon as we got into town since we would be about an hour late giving him his meds. And of course this is where the drama started. Two hours before we were supposed to be in town they informed me that the prescription was written wrong and they needed to clarify things with the doctor. So they put a page into the on call doctor and would wait for a response. An hour later they finally heard back from the doc and supposedly had it all straightened out. It took me six calls, including back to the nurses desk of the hospital I just left, and 40 minutes standing in front of the lady at the counter giving her the death stare because my son didn't get the 2pm dose that was recommended (that's what time we left the hospital and the prescription was faxed to Bellevue and no one put it together that we would need it before we got home) and they wouldn't give me the 8 pm dose because they were waiting for the doctor to call back even though I talked to the doctor and he said he wasn't calling back. I learned my lesson. ALWAYS pick up the prescriptions from the hospital so you have them in hand when you walk out the door! NOTE TAKEN!

 

We finally arrived home around 9:30pm. The kids were still up waiting for us. I felt so horrible and will probably be yelled at by the teacher tomorrow for keep him up so late, but we had been gone for 30 DAYS! All I wanted to do was hug my babies. I just wanted to be a complete family again. It was such a breathtaking moment seeing the smiles on every one's faces. Brilyn kept following Jayen around the house. She was so happy he was home, happier he was home than me! But ever so quickly the smile was wiped off our faces as reality smacked us on the hell. Well quite literally smacked Jayen on the head. Brilyn was playing with Jayen and his thermos cup and decided to smack him on the top of his head with it. I had no other reaction then to start crying and praying that we didn't need to start driving 6 hours back to the hospital. I don't know how we are going to do this. Jayen's new life, our new life is going to take some getting used to. This is just the beginning!

 

 

A little extra motivation

Jayen was struggling getting out of the room this morning. He was really upset when we told him it was time for a walk. I really couldn't have been better timing seeing a dog as soon as we opened the door. Jayen wasn't allowed to touch the dogs when he had the grids in for infection and shock reasons, so this was such a welcome surprise. There are often therapy dogs that visit the unit. I think this is such a great thing to have at the hospital. And this was one of the perfect reasons why. Ms. Maggie and her handler were more than willing to go for a walk with us. Jayen was even allowed to hold on to her leash and walk her himself. He had the biggest smile on his face. He immediately turned from crying to smiling. He was so busy enjoying walking the dog that he didn't even realize he walked 6 laps. We had previously only been able to get 3 at most. I hope the dog can come back again every walk time!

A fresh scent on life

The day mommy has been waiting 28 days for, bath day!!!!! Every dressing change I just cringed at the sight of chunks of spinal fluid and matted balls of hair and betadine. This is the day I have been waiting for. I was very nervous about getting his incision wet or scrubbing too hard. We didn't do a very good job but it smells way better than it did before. One step closer to leaving!

 

Swelling has gone down a lot more. Even had a dimple return!

We've been trying to ice his eye as much as we can. Every time he is sleeping there is an ice pack on it. I think that has helped a lot with the swelling. The cuddles with Frankie the giraffe must be helping too. The giraffe was sent to Jayen from daddy's work. I have never seen him cuddle with anything before. It was kind of cute! Daddy came up with the name. He is named after one of our EEG friends. Fwumba gave himself the name Frankie after we all had such a hard time saying his name, so it was just so fitting that the giraffe got the nickname too.

Still struggling to wake

Jayen's swelling was worse today than it was yesterday. It seemed like post op day two was worse the first time too. Jayen got to skype with his teachers this morning. It was so nice to see them. I only wish Jayen was in a better mood. He usually glows when he gets to talk to Dalan and Brilyn, I thought he would do the same with them. I guess I need to give him a little slack, he did just have parts of his brain removed. 

We were finally able to wear one our surgical caps! Jayen received so many compliments when we were out on our strolls. We got Jayen in a wheelchair a couple times and were able to stroll around the unit. When asked if he wanted to go back to the room or continue in the chair he would always ask for more. So we started upping the ante! We were able to get his shoes on him and get him walking. I would have been happy just getting him to the doorway but he surprised me and went around the little circle on the floor. So proud of him. I think we need to push for a little more activity!

There weren't a lot of awake moments with him, but we try to enjoy every second of them when they do occur. Really hoping tomorrow brings a little more of our baby back. 

A little worse for the wear

Pretty swollen today. He can't open his right eye at all.  I'm a little worried about him. Ok, a lot! I am trying to keep in mind that he literally had parts of his brain removed and I should cut him some slack. He is very sleepy; he hasn't been awake for more than 15 minutes at a time. He is struggling to open his mouth wide enough to take a bite of jello but we managed to get a few Popsicles in him. Hoping tomorrow we can get him awake for a little longer. He is supposed to have a Skype date with Ms. Shank, his class and Mrs. B tomorrow morning. We continue to pray and know the reason we did all of this.  

The day has finally arrived!

We have jumped through so many hurdles to get to this place. I actually never thought we would get here. It was such a long shot. There were so many ups and downs, twists and turns, but we have made it. Our family made the decision to help control Jayen's seizures by undergoing brain surgery. Over the past year and a half we have tried numerous medications with little effect on his seizure control. When brain surgery was presented to us, we knew it was a long shot. We were so up and down about the procedure. It is such an invasive and permanent decision but gave him such a great chance at a seizure free life. A SEIZURE FREE LIFE! I'm crying just saying those words. That possibility alone is the reason we have put our entire family through everything.
This morning, Jayen crossed his last hurdle in our journey to brain surgery; the surgery itself. An early morning wake-up call for surgery at 7:30AM. Jayen was strolled down to the operating room. Daddy got the priviledge of taking Jayen in and helping him go to sleep. I say priviledge lightly as he is kicking and screaming, using all his might to get away from the mask. When he was under we said our goodbyes and had to put all our trust and faith in these doctors' hands. I asked one of the surgical residents to hold Jayen's hand for me. I hope she did! I'll have to ask her tomorrow.

 

We did all we could to keep busy during surgery. We went to the chapel for ashes, cafeteria for breakfast, the room to put batteries back in all the toys, picked out a new XBox game for Jayen, gift shop to search for a gift, cafeteria for lunch, then waited outside the operating room. Dr. Dunn came out a while later, she said surgery went great and Dr. Kebriaei was closing up. A while later Dr. Kebriaei came out and explained the surgery to us. They removed the entire polymicrogyria in one clump, the tissue on the orbital lobe that was affected, and the two areas on the temporal lobe. Dr. Kabriaei said there was a little scar tissue on the orbital lobe so they were glad they took it out or it could have caused him more problems later. Jayen was taken to the recovery room and we waited to see him. We kept asking for updates and no one was sure where he was. After an hour we asked for another update and they told us there were just taking him to PICU. They said we could meet them at the elevators and go up with them. I wasn't sure why we were going to PICU. The plan was to go back to our room on the epilepsy unit. Well, I guess I will take the extra help watching over him. He started to wake up around 5:30PM. He is a little out of it yet, but perked up when the nurse asked him if he wanted a popsicle.

 

After being awake for only an hour and a half he was a little tired again. I'm sure this will be a sleepless night, but is worth it. I hope this is the start of a new life for my baby.

We are so thankful for all the thoughts, prayers, and gifts. I'm so overwhelmed by the support we have. I love you all so much and hope some day I can repay you for what you have done for my family. God bless you all!!!!

Eventful day

Surgery is scheduled for tomorrow at 7:30 AM. So today we had to finish the brain mapping. Because they are sending electrical input to his brain there is such a risk of seizure activity. Jayen had to have labs drawn in the morning and an IV placed for the fosphenytoin they were giving him before the mapping. Jayen hates IV's. It took 4 grown adults to hold him down just to place the IV. Around noon he was given the fosphenytoin so it had time to kick in. Jayen's body did not like this medication. During the drip he started gagging, he was pale, clamy, and drowsy. He took a little nap while waiting for the doctors. Dr. Arquillo, Dr. Frost, Ed and Linda from EEG, Paris our nurse and couple spectators were in the room. Jayen did amazing. He was, in Dr. Frost's words, happy drunk. They did not stimulate any motor functions so they will be able to remove the areas with no risk. They are looking at removing the area in the right frontal lobe that had the PMG. This is the area all the seizures seem to originate from. There is also an area in the orbital frontal that seems to have some seizures originate or occur 1/10 of a second after the frontal lobe PMG. There are two areas in the temporal lobe that they aren't sure if are areas of origination or just highways from the origination. After the frontal and orbital resection they will hook up EEG to see if the temporal areas are active. If they are still active they will remove those areas as well.
I can't believe we have gotten to this point. This has been such an amazing, long journey. We are close enough to see the finish line. Can my baby really be seizure free? Is this really going to be the start of a new journey for Jayen? I'm so nervous but so excited. Tomorrow is going to be one crazy day!

We have a plan

We finally have a plan, or at least know the doctor's plan. Tomorrow we are scheduled to do the mapping or stimulation part. Jayen has to have labs drawn before hand and another iv put in. I'm not excited about this part. These have caused the most anxiety for Jayen. I think he handled brain surgery better than he did the iv's. After the mapping is done the doctors will meet to discuss the plan of attack. They continue to say they will be conservative in their resection approach, but I am trying to keep an open mind about things. I really hope this is the one and only surgery we will have to do to have these seizures out of our lives FOREVER!

So to pass the time we started a tattoo parlor in the room. This has kind of been an ongoing thing the last few days. Every time the tattoos come out Jayen needs at least two more. So we have started giving them to everyone that comes in the room. Dalan and Brilyn got them yesterday, we try to remember the nurses every time they come in the room, and now we are set on getting the doctors! Most of them are playing along, but we are still working on Dr. Frost. It is our mission to give him one before we leave!

As of last count he is up to 38. We wanted to give him sleeves, but he decided his legs were better than his arms.

Dr. Arquillo was a great sport! He loved it, but might have had a little too much hair on his arms for it to actually stick ;)

Dr. Petronio played well too. Mommy and Dr. were both laughing. The nurse thought I was going to pee my pants! These doctors sure put on a tough game face but when it comes to a 4 year old with cute dimples no one can resist!

Best surprise EVER!!!

Jayen got the best surprise today! His brother and sister were able to come in for a visit. His smile was worth every second of drive time they had to sit through. Thanks a million, billion, gagillion Tom and Tanya for bringing them up for the weekend. I know it was a lot of driving and a little visiting, but to us it meant the world.

 



Giggles, giggles! They were all smiles from the second they walked through the door.

Shortly after the kids all said their hellos, Jayen had another seizure. As sad as I was that they had to witness that again, it really put things into perspective for them. This is why we are here. This is why our family has to go through this. Matt said something to Dalan on the phone the other day that really made me think. He told Dalan, "If you had seizures we would be here with you too." We really would do anything for any one of them. After Jayen was back to himself, he was able to show his brother and sister all the stuff he has been playing with for the past three weeks.

They shared some hoop time.

Some snuggles in the bed after a walk. Brilyn and Dalan even held on to Jayen's walker arms to pull him around.

 

The kids even got to check out the animal sound stars. Brilyn loved these!

There were 5 in the bed! Jayen showed everyone how to play the XBox. He wasn't a fan of sharing though. We might have to work on that before we get back home.

 

 

After everyone left we were back to the monotony of our life in the hospital, but I captured a moment we have been trying to record for a little over a month. I hope this growth continues long after surgery. Just before heading to the hospital Jayen started saying two syllable words. Daddy was laying on the bed saying things and Jayen was repeating them. I'm so proud of him. This was amazing. He had been doing it for a couple minutes before I was able to sneak a video of it. Ms. Shank, check out this progress!!!!

 

Seizure #3

Another seizure this morning. Mommy was a little upset about it. I really think that his little body and brain can't handle having them that close together. This seizure was once again a little different than the others. The seizure started but as soon as we gave diastat it stopped. It was very strange. The other seizures lasted 16+ minutes and this was only 3 minutes. I guess we'll see what Dr. Frost thinks of this. Just hoping that it isn't starting in a different place than the others.

Mommy and daddy got an amazing surprise tonight too. We left Jayen in the hands of Ms. Tina. Jayen had so much fun with her the other night so we were confident he would enjoy himself! Probably too much! We were able to enjoy happy hour at the hotel for a little bit before the loves of our lives got there. Dalan and Brilyn showed up, with Tom and Tanya!, a little after 8PM. Mommy and daddy got some amazing hugs and snuggles before jumping in the pool and spending quality time with them. I loved every second I got to spend with them! After swimming, Daddy dropped me off at the hospital so I could be there for Jayen and he went back to the hotel to sleep with Dalan. Dalan was so excited when he realized daddy was sleeping next to him. I think this was a perfect ending to the day for him. Can't wait for them to see Jayen tomorrow. Our family will be whole again. At least for a little bit!