Jun 20, 2008 12:44 pm US/Eastern
Jessie's Move Delayed By Minor Setback
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
Six-year-old Jessie Hall is on the road to recovery after groundbreaking surgery to remove half of her brain, a procedure meant to give her a normal life.
She was supposed to be moved to a rehab facility Thursday, but as
Derek Valcourt reports, the move was delayed.
"Hello," said Jessie into the telephone Thursday.
It was a phone call from her older brother.
"Hi, Matt," she said.
The call showed how little Jessie is getting her spark back.
"I ordered mac and cheese for lunch," said Jessie.
Also back is her appetite. For the first time since her surgery, she ate well, feeding herself a plate of macaroni and cheese.
"Her personality is there. We can't wait for the energy to come back because she is really a spunky, fun kid, and we can't wait to get that back," said father Cris Hall.
It's a long way from where Jessie was about a week ago--in the middle of the most major brain surgery there is.
Jessie had Rasmussen's encephalitis, a rare neurological disease that was destroying the right half of her brain.
World-renowned pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson removed the diseased half of her brain.
"We're extraordinarily happy when they go this smoothly," said Carson.
Now living with only half of her brain, the six-year-old must relearn all of her body's tasks. And she's doing it. Jessie is out of pediatric intensive care and in a regular room.
Most importantly, she is showing some movement in the left half of her body.
"She is going through changes day by day, minute by minute and getting stronger every day. It's really been interesting and kinda fun to watch her recover and seeing how her brain is rewiring itself and seeing how her brain is getting everything working," said mother Kristi Hall. "It's very nice to be excited about something else again. We are on the downhill slide to recovery and a lot of wonderful possibilities for Jessie."
Jessie was going to move to a rehab facility Thursday, but she was running a fever. That's not uncommon given the circumstances, but the hospital kept her a little longer as a precaution.
The staples in her head could come out as soon as Monday, and her sense of humor has returned. She's cracking plenty of jokes.
When the phone rang Thursday, she turned to her mom and asked, "Is that my stinky brother?"
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