Well, today was the day that we have had circled for months. This neurology appointment was made before we even left the hospital back the beginning of February. But as the months have gone by, this appointment has gained more importance especially to Mason.

Since the last update at the end of March, Mason turned 18. For his birthday he made an appearance at Brynn's softball game, he made a cake with Ali and we went to Perron's for an amazing dinner. Grandma Jackie made a trip up here to celebrate for Mason's birthday so we did exactly that for the rest of her trip. On Sunday (24th) my parents, Uncle Dan joined Grandma Jackie for a birthday lunch, an obnoxious sprinkle cake and lots of lottery ticket scratching (see fb for pictures). We also had a special guest appearance by Aunt Fran, which was fantastic. We continued celebrating Mason's 18th and Kjell's 17th on Monday with Aunt Erin and Soren too. Mason was surrounded by lots and lots of love last week and this week. Officially an adult which he is relishing in. I said to him today "come on kid," he immediately told me he wasn't a kid. I broke the news to him that he will always be my KID. haha! 

To be honest, we weren't exactly sure what was going to happen at this appointment outside of the fact we would learn if Mason could start driving again or not today. We hadn't seen a Neurologist yet, so wasn't sure what Mason would be "tested" on in order to determine driving status or anything else that would come up. I mean, up until this appointment he has continued to pass most of his testing with OT, Speech, Physical Therapy, TBI with flying colors. 

Dr. Tienor asked a lot of questions and did some very quick tests on him. Asking him to do everything in such a quick manner, I'm convinced that the quick following of directions was part of the testing! I was exhausted just trying to keep up with what she was asking him to do. She reiterated the importance of sleep, staying hydrated, eating well and NOT drinking any alcohol. All of which could make him potential vulnerable to repeat seizures. We discussed his new Oura ring and told her we were already on top of the sleep monitoring. It was actually fun to show her the stats of his sleep and what the ring has done to show his quality of sleep lately. After reviewing with him and his charts, Dr. Tienor confirmed that we didn't need to redo another MRI. Also, letting Mason know that she is not recommending any seizure medication and FINALLY that she was clearing him to drive. YAY! We were given direct phone numbers to the Neurology Clinic if he ever does have another seizure that we will need to call and a website to go to showing all of the states and their seizure regulations on driving since they are all different. If he were to have another seizure (which Dr. Tienor believes that it is only due to the high dosage of Bupropion, that he would need to report it. If he doesn't, he could lose his license all together forever versus going through another 3 months. This was a very important learning! 

We will get some driving in together this weekend to ensure that he's good with being behind the wheel again. And then Monday, May 2 - he will be making his big return to Copper Pint! 

I've been thinking lately that I haven't been answering the question "hows Mason" in the right way. When people ask (and we love when people do) I've been responding with "good, fine, really good" and without seeing him everyday, I feel like people can't believe that it's true as he was in such BAD shape. But it's a 100% true, he's doing so well. I was talking with Mag, who was in the St. Francis ER when Mason was brought in and recalling the events of that morning. And she told me, "you know you saved his life by performing CPR." This brought me back thinking how far he has come and realizing the it's amazing to be able to say "he's good, fine, really great." I was also, messaging with Casey (remember him...our most favorite PICU nurse in the whole world?) and we were talking about the crazy, amazing steps he took from day 1 to day 4. Casey was there when he was admitted where we had conversations about external machines keeping him alive and was there to see him get extubated and to see him sitting talking in the peds ward. It has been nothing short of miraculous. We don't take any of it lightly and when we say "hes good, fine, really great" we mean it, but know that all of the comments, prayers, virtual and real hugs all made a difference. 

In about 5 weeks Mason will graduate from Bridges/Prior Lake High School. He's not sure what will come next, but whatever it is, he knows that he is loved by so many people. We can't wait to celebrate Mason and Ali together in joint graduation party and look forward to seeing as many of you as possible. 

This will likely be one of the last posts here, maybe one around graduation time, but we want to say THANK YOU for loving our family it has meant the world to us. If you are looking for us this spring, summer - check a softball field. :)