A great afternoon for Grant

We have heard from many people who have said they are reading this blog. We are overwhelmed by the love and support of our friends. For those who don't know much of the story of why we are in the hospital, Grant had a series of cysts that the plastic surgeon says was the largest he has ever encountered. They spread from inside the skull near the brain up to the tip of his nose. These were benign dermoid cysts that were essentially skin cells that never quite developed right during fetal growth. They would have continued to slowly grow if not removed, which would have caused many problems. We were very blessed that one presented itself on the tip of his nose where we could detect the problem. By removing all of them, there is really no chance for any recurrence.

Well from there you know the story on this blog of the pretty extensive surgery to fix the problem and of the rough few days of recovery. As Heather mentioned In her last post, about mid day today Grant turned the corner. He is now fine managing pain with just Tylenol and Ibuprofen. His eyes, though still a bit swollen, are open and he is making up for lost time and fun.

Today we played video games, went for a wagon ride around the hospital, painted pictures, did playdough, played the piano, talked to people on the phone, shot styrofoam cups with nerf darts, and watched a movie while eating popcorn. It has been an amazing and very happy turnaround. We thank all of you for your prayers and acts of kindness. One of the many touching things we received today was a package of roughly 100 hand made cards drawn by the children in primary in our ward. Grant had a great time going through them and he felt so special that so many people are praying for him and writing emails, notes and cards.

One final thing we did at Grant's request was to draw a map of the United States, including a compass which is very important to him :), and show where the big storm is coming and talk about any of our friends who might be in the path of the storm. We remembered to pray for all of you tonight too. Please be safe.