Hello and happy Friday!

Mason had an uneventful night. He did wake up and watch a movie at 3 a.m.- we will need to start working toward setting a more "normal" routine and schedule that we can also follow at home in the future.

Today his nausea was slightly better and he was able to eat some dry cereal for breakfast, along with some fresh strawberries. He had his last can of ravioli for lunch, and texted me to make sure I was bringing more. I made a special run to the grocery store last night just to pick up a few cans, but in my rush to leave the house at 6:30 this morning to get back to Georgia Tech for parent orientation, I left them at home. Major mom fail- but I promised him I would bring more.

Grandma Mary spent the day with Mason while I attended parent orientation with Jack. When we finished orientation at lunch time, Jack asked to come up to the hospital to see his brother. We made our required stop at a grocery store nearby to pick up the ravioli (plus enough supplies to get Jack through the next few weeks) and headed to the hospital.

When we arrived, I was advised that Mason had just taken several medicines in pill form- which is kind of a big deal. If they were going to consider sending us home, he needs to be able to take his daily medications in pill form rather than through the IV. So the fact that his nausea was better controlled and that he was able to manage the pills was a win for us.

Mason has hovered near a fever all day, but it hasn't actually spiked into fever, so we are considering that to be a good sign as well.

And in the biggest news of the day- WE WENT OUTSIDE! Not just out of his room or off the floor- but he sat in his wheelchair and I got to bring him all the way outside into the sunshine for some fresh air (it has been 25 days since he has breathed fresh outdoor air). The hospital has a beautiful garden area with a fountain and quite a few sculpted creatures. He was confused by a giant lady bug that looked a little like a spider and a little like a fly to him, but he did really enjoy the turtle and the frog. As we wheeled past the sculpture of the little boy in the fountain, Mason commented that it looked a lot like his cousin, Austin. It actually really did. He still has a sharp eye for detail on him- even with one eye's vision still a little impaired by that red blob from the burst blood vessel.

After we went out to the garden, I was able to show him the library and he asked to go to the cafeteria, where he went straight for the ice cream (like you couldn't have guessed that move...).

When we returned to the room, the nurse took his weight, which was up a few pounds, so we are taking that as another win.

Then mom pushed the envelope a little too much- because he was unhooked from all of his lines, I asked him to go ahead and step into a bath. The bath itself isn't really an issue, but the tape that they had to put around his PICC lines was really painful to remove after the bath, so I promised him he could sleep for a bit this afternoon before I asked anything more of him. He is asleep now and will hopefully be up soon to eat his beloved ravioli- or something with a few more calories if I can talk him into it.

Please keep the prayers coming- today seemed a little bit better than yesterday and we hope to stay on this path. And thank you so much for the continued Smilegrams- the jokes we have been seeing have been amazing!