Surgery is over!
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The Blick Family
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The Blick Family
Jonah’s surgery today went well, and he is doing well!
After more than eight hours in the operating room, Jonah is awake and recovering in the ICU with Randi and Adam by his side.
The length of the surgery was actually a good thing. Dr. Baird and her incredible team were meticulous and took their time, safely removing as much of the tumors as they possibly could. With this type of brain cancer, we know surgery alone cannot remove every tumor cell, but we could not have asked for more from Dr. Baird and her team today. She got everything she safely could, and Jonah was an absolute rockstar throughout the entire surgery.
Thank you to cousin Sandi, who came and sat with us all day through what felt like the longest eight hours imaginable. Having her there meant so much.
After surgery, we also spent time with Dr. Mariella Filbin, a pediatric neuro-oncologist and researcher at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s, who is working closely with Dr. Baird on Jonah’s case. The tumor tissue removed today will undergo extensive testing so the team can learn as much as possible about the specific biology of Jonah’s cancer and use that information to help build the best possible treatment plan specifically for him.
That personalization is incredibly important with a cancer this rare. The Boston team will continue working alongside Jonah’s Atlanta team as they determine the best path forward.
But tonight, we aren’t getting ahead of ourselves.
Tonight is about this win.
The first step was getting Jonah safely through this major surgery. He did it. Now we focus on helping him recover, getting him home and getting him strong and ready for the next phase of treatment.
We expect he will likely spend 3–4 nights in the hospital. Radiation in Atlanta is tentatively scheduled to begin September 8, although that timing will depend on his recovery and could certainly move.
The amount of love surrounding this family today was almost impossible to comprehend. Dr. Filbin even told us she had heard about Jonah’s case from more than a dozen different people. If that doesn’t tell you how fiercely this kid and this family are loved, I don’t know what does.
Prayers and messages came from across the country and around the world. A HUGE thank you to Bobby Nooromid, who organized the most beautiful Tehillim and continues to help all of us find meaningful ways to pray, believe and hold onto hope.
One thing Dr. Filbin reinforced with us today was how important it is to surround Jonah with positive energy and, as much as possible, let him continue being a normal 14-year-old kid. So that is exactly what we are going to do. We are going to lean into hope, celebrate every win and continue filling his world with as much normalcy, laughter, love and joy as possible.
And tonight, as we welcome Shabbat, the candles feel a little different.
Last week, so many of you lit candles for Jonah and sent that light toward Boston with him. Tonight, we get to light them with gratitude and hope.
Gratitude for Dr. Baird’s extraordinary hands and the team that cared for him today. Gratitude that this huge surgery is behind him. Gratitude that he is awake, surrounded by his parents and already beginning to recover.
And so much hope for what comes next.
We have some of the most brilliant doctors in the world studying Jonah’s tumors and working together to determine exactly how to fight them. We have an army of people surrounding this family with love, prayer and positive energy. And most importantly, we have Jonah—who continues to amaze all of us with his strength, humor and ability to just keep being Jonah through all of this.
Tonight there is so much light. And we are choosing to believe that light is leading us somewhere really good.
One enormous step is behind us. Our boy was heroic today. Now we let him heal, celebrate this win and keep moving forward with every ounce of hope we have.
Keep the candles burning. Keep the prayers coming. We believe in Jonah. We believe in his doctors. We believe in science, medicine, miracles and everything that is still possible.
Shabbat Shalom.
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