Jessie's Story

BALTIMORE (WJZ) ― There's good news to report about 6-year-old Jessie Hall.  Jessie had half of her brain removed last Wednesday.

In a blog post, Jessie's parents say she is drinking and eating.  She is also out of Intensive Care and in a regular hospital room. 

The pathology results have come back and it was confirmed she had Rasmussen's encephalitis.  Her parents say they are glad they made the decision for Jessie to have the surgery. 

Jessie also had the rest of her hair buzzed off Monday night. Her parents say Jessie is proud of her GI Joe cut and head piercings.

Jessie is still not very animated, but she did respond to her doctor some. Although her parents can't wait until she gets her personality back, they believe Jessie is right where doctors hoped she'd be at this point. 

Jessie  still remains in critical but stable condition.  She still needs a lot of rest.
 
WJZ was the only crew allowed inside the OR for this miraculous procedure.  

The doctors say the surgery on June 11 was successful. They removed the temporal lobe and sent it to testing to make sure the diagnosis of Rasmussen's encephalitis was correct. Jessie's parents also gave permission to use that portion of her brain for testing.

After several hours of surgery, Jessie emerged from the OR.

"Relieved, tired, excited, scared and a lot of hard work to come," said Kristi Hall, Jessie's mom.

Dr. Ben Carson worked non-stop in a quiet and calm OR. 

"We're extraordinarily happy when they go this smoothly," said Dr. Carson. "I'm very gratified by all of the thoughts and prayers from people not only throughout Baltimore, but around the country who've gotten caught up with Jessie's story."

Denise Koch reports from the moment they met, Jessie and Dr. Ben Carson had an instant connection.  The world-renowned pediatric neurosurgeon is cutting off the diseased right side of Jessie's brain. 

Much of the time, she looks like a normal child. But Jessie has Rasmussen's encephalitis, a rare neurological disease.

"She could have a seizure at any time," said Cris Hall, Jessie's father.

Without the surgery, the disease would continue to eat away at Jessie's brain and eventually cause her body to shut down. So Cris and Kristi Hall made the heart-wrenching decision to travel all the way from Texas to Baltimore for the surgery they hope will enable Jessie lead a healthy, normal life.

Preparations for the surgery began around 6:00 a.m Wednesday, June 11.  She said good-bye to her family, and then asked doctors to write on her face during the operation.  She also gave Denise some high-fives. 

Jessie walked off to surgery as a trooper and hopped up on the operating table.

After the surgery, doctors were eager to share the good news.

"Everything is gorgeous.  [Everything] looks good. We couldn't ask for more," said Dr. Eileen Vining, Jessie's neurosurgeon.

"What they expect as soon as she wakes up from surgery, is that the left side of her body will be completely limp. The first thing they want to do is get her walking.  It'll take weeks, and with braces hopefully we will get her walking again without crutches," said Cris Hall, Jessie's dad.

Since learning their little girl had the disease nine months ago, the Halls have been able to move forward thanks to unwavering support from their family, friends and entire town.  

Jessie is an inspiration for her parents.

"She doesn't let anything stop her, so that's very encouraging for us," said Kristi Hall.

"At this point, there is one stage and it's over.  There are more steps that we have to go through. We're nervous about those, but you have to take one step at a time and this first step is a big one," said Cris.

Jessie is expected eventually to be transferred to Kennedy Krieger Institute for extensive in-patient rehabilitation. 

Pink bracelets being worn by many throughout the hospital say, "Pray For Jessie."

Jessie's parents are continually blogging about their daughter's experience.  They say they have received messages of support from as far away as Iraq and Germany.

Click here to read Jessie's blog. 

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