Final thoughts

We arrived home safely at around 6 p.m. New York time on Wednesday, after arriving at JFK at noon. Aside from one giant disappointment, the rest of the trip went very well. But oh how we wish the opposite were true!  As one final coda to a trip that was surreal at times, I was up all night in pain and spent Thursday morning in the emergency room, where a CT-scan revealed that I have three bladder stones. Perhaps Jerry's Surgery Blog is in order?

Final thoughts, Part1

Disappointment is a powerful emotion. It can make you philosophical and cause you to lose faith and hope. Why? Why Josh?  Dr. J has performed 82 of these procedures and the 83rd, Josh's, could not be done. That's about a 1% chance.

We have spent  the past four or five days traveling this beautiful country and trying to come to terms with our disappointment. We've been looking for "silver linings," trying to make the best of the situation, and looking for as muany positive things as we can. By we, I mean Robyn and I.  Josh is hard to read. So let me start with two things:

1) Josh is no worse off physically as a result of the aborted procedure (i.e. no damage was done).

 2) So many prayers were said, so many positive thoughts were sent, so many people wore purple! It's easy to think these prayers went unanswered, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't think this myself at one point.  But those prayers and kind thoughts have touched us deeply and sustained and nourished us half way around the world.  They were not in vain.

We're on our way home tomorrow morning. I will post some final thoughts again when we return. 

The home stretch

Tomorrow is our final full day in Switzerland before heading back to New York on Wednesday. I will share some final thoughts soon about the trip.

Dog therapy

A much needed diversion at the St. Bernard Museum in Martigny.

The Matterhorn

Options

We do have options, although none seem as immediately promising as the ultra sound once was.

1. Wait for the engineers of the HIFUS equipment to solve the problem of Josh's thick skull (still no jokes, please).  This option could take a lot of time.

2. Gamma knife treatment. There is a facility in  Seattle that uses gamma knife treatments in a way that is similar to the ultra sound. Problem is it is not approved for epilepsy.

3. Autogenic training, mindfulness based cognitive therapy and self-healing.  Dr. J said along that Josh would need to do this, even if the procedure was successful. This option may not be effective in totally eliminating the seizures, but certainly  can only help Josh become happier.

Zermatt

It was always my intention to keep this blog as a chronicle of Josh's surgeries and not as a vehicle for my own feelings and experiences. I've also tried to respect his privacy and keep some of the most personal details out.  I am, therefore, reluctant  to turn this into a vacation blog. But here is a taste of the Alps. I will have a bit more to report on our final meeting with Dr. J this morning. Thanks for all of your kind thoughts and prayers as we deal with this difficult time half way around the world.