Wednesday, January 21, 2004 10:13 AM CST

I (Willa) drove home yesterday since tomorrow is Sean's birthday. He will be eleven! We'll have a small celebration today and his "big" celebration along with Kieron's when Aidan finally gets home and we can all be together. Grandma Ryan bought some Cheetos for Aidan's homecoming since the last thing Aidan said before he went under for surgery last week was "More Cheetos!!" (said with a big dreamy smile!)

Aidan lost the tube coming from his head yesterday. Yesterday morning it had started leaking CSF onto his pillow, which no one liked too much because it was an infection risk. When the neurosurg resident came to look at it at 1 pm, he declared that the tube was basically out already. So he pulled it and stitched up the site.

When I talked to Kevin on the phone in the evening after I made it home (the drive to Shaver Lake from SF takes about 4.5 hours)I could hear Aidan in the background. He was saying "Talk to Denny, talk to Grandma" and laughing and "oinking" (a charming habit his older brothers have taught him). He was setting off his alarms by kicking and moving his feet. In other words, he was acting like a normal Aidan after almost a week of lethargy and mumbling.

I'm not sure if it was having the tube out that put him in such good spirits, or possibly the morphine they used while putting in the stitches?? But it was nice to hear him acting like himself!

Today I (Willa) am going to spend some time with my mother from Alaska and my other kids, and then head back to SF after rush hour tonight. Paddy is having great fun playing with his siblings and walking around freely. At the PICU, of course, we can't let him get down on the floor, and so he gets a little stir crazy. We take him out to the courtyard and after hours to the nurses school where there's a big hall he can walk in. But it's not the same as home!