At 8:00 this morning, Riley went in for his second CEA surgery. This surgery was focused on his legs. The surgeon was considering grafting parts of his face as well, but they ended up only needing to add grafts to his ears.
Overall the surgery went as planned, he is extubated, and is recovering now. 
Unfortunately, the bacteria on his back and legs is still a large concern at this point and makes this surgery riskier than it already is. His team has put him on antibiotics, along with many, MANY, other precautions to keep him as safe as possible. As his wounds heal up in these areas, we will wait to see how the bacteria manifests. 
Until then, he will continue to have strict restrictions and isolation measures in order to keep any other potential infections at bay. 
Leading up to the surgery, Riley has become incredibly strong in physical therapy. He is able to walk longer distances without any assistance and always gets a good pump in at the gym. One big challenge for Riley moving forward will be the mobility of his hands, so he has been incredibly focused on gaining back as much mobility as possible. 
He also is now able to fully eat every meal without assistance, which is huge given that he wasn't able to eat for about 1.5 months. His first meal was the hospital meatloaf, but we have been making sure he gets better food since then :) 
In other news, Riley turns 26 on November 28th. Since he will be isolated at this point, the health care team in the Burn Unit threw a surprise (early) birthday party for him, complete with a sign, streamers, disco lights, music, and a cake. It's been so comforting to see Riley in such good care with people who care about his physical recovery, but also his mental wellbeing. Being in a Hospital for as long as he has been (and for as long as he will continue to be), is extremely mentally taxing. I will attach photos from this day below :) 

Thank you to everyone who has kept Riley and the rest of us in your thoughts and prayers. It is so incredible to see the amount of support that surrounds us. 
As always, please continue to pray for our physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing as we keep chugging along in this process. 

Piper