Page 44 - The Exceptional Harley Fetterman

JUDY K JOHNSON

It took forever for doctors to finally figure out that Harley's pain
medication actually made him totally incoherent and unable to
function. His speech was badly slurred, and he couldn't remember
words. His parents feared brain damage. This resulted in a hospital
stay of nine long days instead of the expected four. As soon as
Dilaudid was discontinued, Harley's mental ability quickly returned.
After his surgery, Harley stayed home from school for six weeks.
At the time, Beth worked from home and was there to support his
recovery. Finally, Harley's oncology doctors were now telling him that
he only had to come in for a checkup once a year for tests.
At the age of eleven, Harley's tumor was essentially gone but he
was left permanently blind in his right eye and saw only high contrast
shapes out of his left. The family hoped their future could now be
successfully refocused primarily on encouraging Harley's future life:
middle school, high school, college and beyond.

Figure 11: No more craniotomy!

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