Caden's Journey

On the morning of September 23rd, Caden was playing at recess with his classmates when he suffered a spontaneous rupture of an AVM in his brain.  From the information that we have been able to gather, he may have stumbled around a little, then just fell down.  Most fortunately, the little boys that he was playing with knew what to do and immediately ran for help.  We are so grateful to those boys!  Timing turned out to mean everything that day. 
He was airlifted to RWJ and thus began his journey.  We've been told Caden will not remember anything from that time - and for that we are thankful - but he probably would have loved that helicopter ride under different circumstances ;)  That first day he underwent 3 separate operations, each one of them at critical junctures as the extent of his injury revealed itself.  Friday brought another surgery, and then the onset of a drug induced coma. 
Caden was in the coma for 2 weeks, and had his share of ups and downs along the way.  Coming off of those major meds was another roller coaster ride, but the greatest moment was when Caden opened his eyes.  (The doctors had been very kind to me and let me see his eyes when they checked him each morning, but nothing beats Caden opening them on his own!)  He then had to be weaned off of all of the tubes, wires and apparati that had been doing all of life's work for him the last few weeks.  Finally, one month after the injury, he entered the rehab hospital to start the hard work of recovery.
Caden was truly limited in what he could do that first day.  He could move his arms and legs in rather grand gestures, but with no purpose.  He could squeeze his right hand.  He and I had learned to communicate by his blinking for "yes".  He could not lift his head, swallow or speak.  He had only just started to spend a little amount of time in a seated position before he left PICU.  He could not walk nor move his body from a set position.
What a difference two weeks of therapy makes!  With great effort, Caden has improved his head control.  He can sit in his wheel chair for extended periods.  He sits assisted with his therapist to play games of Uno and Connect 4 against his mom (and usually wins!).  Caden has improved the dexterity in his right hand so that he can pinch the game pieces and cards and place them in the correct places.  He enjoys rolling over on the mats, and is working really hard at sit-ups so he can have his own "6-pack".  He waves hello and good-bye.  Gives thumbs up for "yes" and thumbs down for "no".  And just as it had been a delight to see his eyes open, it has been a wonderful joy to hear him laugh again. --Alex