First and foremost, Graham’s school and our church were nothing
short of amazing. Graham’s principle and
teachers at Ogle Elementary treated Graham like he was their own son, and ALL
the kids at the school treated Graham like he was a ROCKSTAR. Our church lifted us up and gave us more
support and kindness than we could ever hope for. From the day 16 months ago when a car ran
over Graham’s head until the day we left, we had the greatest support system a
family could ask for. We would
occasionally have the opportunity to walk the halls of the school with Graham
for one reason or another, and kids of all grades would say “Hi Graham!” or “Hey
there’s Graham! Hi Graham!” as they waved at him with giant smiles on
their faces. The school held a big
assembly for Graham during the last week of school and named their school theme
for the following year – SUPERHEROS – in his honor.
As we pondered our move, we wondered – how would his new
school treat him? In McKinney, his
school went through the trial of Graham’s accident WITH us and WITH
Graham. They prayed for him. They stood by us through his miraculous
recovery. They loved him. How would Graham do at a new school, where he’s
not “The Superhero?” Where he’s just the
new kid with an eye that doesn’t work and a memory that forgets? Would he be bullied? Would the school accommodate him? Would his
teachers understand him? Would his classmates
accept him?
In moving back to Boise, we also had to leave the doctors who,
in essence, brought Graham back to life and got him back in our home after 3
months in the hospital. Graham would
need a new neurosurgeon, a new neurologist, and a new endocrinologist. Would they see eye to eye with his previous
doctors? Or would they have widely differing
opinions and cause massive disruptions in Graham’s recovery as they put their
own “mark” on him?
Then there were practical matters – how long would it take Graham
to learn the hallways at his new school?
At his new HOME? Graham has been
a rock of optimism and positivity ever since his accident. He is quite possibly the happiest and kindest
kid on earth. Could he maintain
that? Or would all the changes resulting
from the move finally prove to be too much for him to handle emotionally? Would it break his spirit? And what of our other three kids? How would they handle it?
Well, we are happy to report that the anxiety storm has been
calmed, and all is well. His new school –
Andrus Elementary in Boise, Idaho, has exceeded our expectations. The principle and teachers have stepped up
and met Graham’s every need, and the kids have treated him with kindness. Our church has been great as well, and Graham
has more friends in the neighborhood than we can count. In short, the move has been a great success!
Graham has a new Neurologist and Endocrinologist here in
Boise, and a new ENT surgeon and Brain surgeon a few hours away in Salt Lake
City. We like them all, and their
opinions thus far have been consistent with those of the team that nursed
Graham back to health in Dallas.
Inclusive in that consistency is the expert medical opinion
that Graham needs to have another surgery.
He still has a crack in the base of his (should be sterile) skull that
leads into his “dirty” sphenoid sinus. And the crack is growing. As one of his doctors put it, Graham is a “Walking
case of meningitis waiting to happen.”
Performing his surgery is not an emergency, but it is necessary. He’s literally a bad sneeze away from introducing
bacteria to his brain. So surgery will
happen in Salt Lake City on December 8.
His ENT Surgeon and Brain surgeon will work together clean out and seal
the crack in his skull with titanium mesh and fat from Graham’s belly. As they put it, it is “not a minor surgery –
it’s brain surgery” even though they will not need to perform a craniotomy;
instead performing the surgery endoscopically.
He’ll likely have to stay in the hospital for at least a week, and the
timing (intentionally) means he’ll be out of school for about a month. And while no parent ever wakes up in the
morning and hopes their kid needs brain surgery, we are grateful for modern
medicine and the opportunity to clear Graham’s next hurdle.
Thank you to all our friends and family near and far who
continue to support Graham and pray for him.
We know that his recovery is a wonderful combination of great medicine
and divine intervention, and for the latter we thank a loving Heavenly Father
and all those who prayed to him on Graham’s behalf.
More updates will come, and until then God bless you all.
