Finally.  It's been a long wait, with lots of anxious days and sleepless nights for both Karen and me.  Not that we are concerned about the surgery itself.  No, just the opposite.  We're excited for the surgery.  It's just that we felt like this day would never actually get here.

Since last fall, we've been going from one doctor to another - one step at a time - moving this forward.  At one point, we had this surgery scheduled for March 25, but Anna's recent hospitalization pushed that back another five weeks.  Pushed it back to tomorrow.

So, around 12:30pm tomorrow, one of the doctors at Hopkins will be operating on Anna's feet.  The goal is to add length to her Achilles tendons to give more flexibility to her feet, which have tightened up over the past year.  See our earlier post from March 3 with more details.

What will this do for her?  It will become a path to authorize a new period of physical therapy.  This therapy will be done at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore.  After her feet have healed from the surgery (estimated three weeks), Anna will be transferred to KKI for a month of inpatient therapy.  While there receiving this physical therapy, she will also be receiving cognitive therapy.  They will seek to help raise her level of awareness and consciousness through various activities and through medicines.

Pray that nothing pops up at the last minute that will push back this surgery.  Pray that the procedure itself tomorrow goes smoothly.  Pray for the skill and experience of her medical team.  Pray that her recovery is quick and that the pain will be properly controlled.

The expectation is that they will keep Anna at Hopkins overnight to make sure she is OK, and then she will be discharged back to Lorien on Tuesday.  Deep breath... hold in... now exhale.

Thanks for continuing to walk this journey with us.  We are lifted up by your care and support.