My Grandson, Andy

Although this is Kimi's blog, this evening, I am writing about my grandson, Andy Perry, Eddie's youngest son. He is eight years old...his 9th birthday is in 10 days. Two days ago, about 3:30 in the afternoon, he was climbing a tree, as all boys (and some girls - I climbed trees) do. Somehow, he slipped and fell about 15 feet to the ground, falling on his head. He was rushed to Riley Children's Hospital by ambulance. A CT scan showed a skull fracture, his brain had shifted and there was bleeding in his brain. The injury caused his brain to swell to the point that he was taken to surgery at 7:05 p.m. The neurosurgeon removed much of the right half of his skull to reduce the pressure from the swelling and save his life. He is currently in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, sedated, and on a ventilator. The good news is: he is stable, his cranial pressure is in the normal range, the bleeding in his brain has slowed, and his brain has returned to its normal position. Also, yesterday, he was awakened momentarily, and moved both arms and both legs. In the ambulance, before the brain swelling began, he was lucid and answering questions appropriately. Although he is not out of the woods yet, by any means, at this point, everyone is cautiously optimistic. Amazingly, the doctors have frozen the section of skull that was removed, and will reattach it once the swelling has subsided. It is a miracle that he didn't suffer a broken neck or severed spine and we are SO thankful for that. Many people have been praying for our little Andy, and continued prayer on his behalf is appreciated more than anything. Also, please pray for Eddie. As you can imagine, this is a very difficult time for all of us.