Halo? What Halo?
October 17, 2007 5:12 PM

Back in September Juliana still had the RED ll "halo" in place. It wasn't bothering her, but some of the pin sites (where the halo was attached to her head) were becoming inflammed. Also, some of the screws had loosened to the extent they weren't even making contact, so the whole thing was becoming unstable. Pictures had been sent to Dr. Wolf and plans were being made for a trip to Miami for Dr. Wolf to remove the device and decide if he wanted to do anything further at this point.

It was on September 24 that it became apparent how loose the halo was becoming, so Thom placed a call to Dr. Wolf, and following his directions, was able to remove all of the RED ll except for the part attached to the roof of Juliana's mouth. This "mouthpiece" will be removed by Dr. Wolf in a couple of weeks.

Thom was able to do this procedure with the assistance of Margaret (Juliana's "day nurse," who's with Juliana at school). Juliana tolerated it fine, and went about her business (playing) as usual.

Tami has written in her update about how she didn't even notice the change. Well, that night when I got there, I didn't even notice either! I went in, and Juliana and I went upstairs as usual. Thom and Tami went up also and we were just talking away, and then I asked, "Are there any new instructions about caring for the pin sites?" Finally they both burst out laughing: "Jeanne, look at her!" "Ohhhhhhhh! What happened to it?"

I had been getting my stuff out and getting things ready for the night, chattering away, and I don't know when I would have actually realized that the RED ll was gone!

Amazing! I couldn't believe how unobservant I had been. I guess that's what being preoccupied is—a dangerous frame of mind! I'm glad they thought it was funny.

Juliana was scheduled to be in Miami this week, but was rescheduled because she came down with a fever and cough. Now she's well and is scheduled to see Dr. Wolf on Wednesday the 24th. We'll have more news for you after that.

—Jeanne ("Party")