Brodie 10 Months and No More Vent

Brodie has reached the 10 month milestone and is improving daily.  What this means for our family is that we are finally getting back to a more normal life.  The picture above is Brodie at the Jimmy Buffet concert.  We are fully aware that this is probably not the best concert for his first concert but he had a great time.  I can't believe that back in September we were not sure that we would ever bring him home and then eight months later I would have him sitting between my legs rocking back and forth to Jimmy Buffett.  We are amazed daily at his progress and are so blessed to have such a special boy in our lives.  I can't say that it has been easy but the rewards far outweigh the hard times.  As of this morning Brodie is officially off the ventilator.  We went to the Pulmonolgist a couple of weeks ago and he was so amazed at Brodie's progress that he decided to be more aggressive with the vent wean.  He came up with a 12 day plan to get him off the vent and Brodie breezed right through.  We go in for a blood gas in a few days and hopefully that will look great as well.  He told us if he was off the vent and did not need the trach for ventilation then there was no need for the trach anymore.  He said that he could possibly get the trach out this summer.  Although this is great news we are thinking that it won't happen based on previous conversation but we will just take whatever comes our way.  Brodie looks great and that is all that matters to us.  We have offically decided today that we will be having Brodie's 1st birthday party on Aug 11, 2012 from 11:30 to 3:30 in The Woodlands.  We would LOVE for everyone that would like to come to be there.  We would like to not only celebrate Brodie's first year of life but also for everyone that would like to meet him to come out.  Whether you are are family, a good friend, medical staff or someone that we have never met that has followed his story we would be honored to have you.  The only thing we ask is that you let us know so that we know how much food to get.  There will be a splash pad, bounce house, playground, food and fun.  You can email us at vonasteward@msn.com.  Also, if you would like an invitation please give us your address.  Thanks again for everything that all of you have done and hopefully we will get to personally thank you in August.