A million thanks for all of your support for the Merrill/Gumabay family over the past week. I knew that all of your kind thoughts and wishes would help Ethan recover quickly from his surgery. He's doing very well today and has been a chatterbox all morning. Many of you who know Ethan are aware of his wonderful personality...but, there have been so many people who have never met this little boy who are praying for him. I thought I'd share some of my favorite "Ethanisms" from the past few days to give everyone some insight into his character. Even during this serious situation, this child has a way of bringing smiles to our faces.
The next *real* update will come after his MRI today. The MRI will be performed some time after 1pm. Hang in there...more updates soon!
Chaya
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After being released from the hospital on Monday evening, early Tuesday morning Ethan asked his parents if he could go back to the hospital. When asked why he wants to go back, he replied: "Because I'm allowed to eat in bed there. It's against the rules at home!" Small hospital luxuries...
Ethan has asked several times to speak directly to the doctor! He wanted to ask the doctor if he could have a drink (Ethan was super thirsty) and ask if he could be "unplugged" from all of the equipment. The image of the two of them engaged in a serious talk brings a smile to my face. His doctor (Dr. Magram) is this extremely tall man with a rather serious disposition-- I would have loved to see the two of them converse.
Yesterday before his surgery, Ethan's daddy and I were carrying Ethan around the hospital in hopes of distracting him from his hunger and thirst. (Ethan wasn't allowed to have any food/drinks since midnight in preparation for his surgery.) We walked over to the garage where the ambulances park and Ethan excitedly started waving at the ambulance drivers. The paramedics were amused by the site of this cute little 3-year old boy waving eagerly in his little yellow surgical pajamas. "Paramedic Joe" shook Ethan's hand, let Ethan look inside the ambulance and gave him a stuffed animal from inside the ambulance. As the ambulance pulled away, Ethan was thrilled that they turned on the 'woo-woos' (i.e., siren) for him. After we left the garage, Ethan told me that when he grew up he was going to be a Fireman and a Paramedic! (Yes, he actually used the word 'paramedic'!!)
We were all concerned about how quickly Ethan would recover from the surgery. Well, it doesn't look like he's missed a beat! Promptly following his surgery yesterday, Ethan earnestly told his nurse that he had to go home because he had forgotten to take his vitamin.
Ethan was told that he had a 'lumpy' on his head that the doctors had to remove. He didn't seem afraid of this lumpy or the hospital in general. The first thing he said to his mommy after the surgery was: 'Am I all better now?'