Devastation

March 3, 2012. 10 a.m.

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I am devastated to share that we learned the worst last night. Hinckley has a fast-growing tumor under his spinal cord, which has caused the paralysis. It is inoperable.

He has woken from the anesthesia this morning. They are keeping him comfortable on pain meds and monitoring him closely to make sure he is not in any pain and everything is still functioning.

Given the blizzard here in Traverse City, flights are cancelled. At this point the earliest I can depart is out of Grand Rapids tomorrow, and arrive in Orlando by Sunday evening.  The doctors are hopeful he will remain stable.

There is a very slight chance tomorrow that they will let Alex bring him home with pain medicine so he can be with us at home one last night. But that is an outside possibility. It will depend how he does today and if the mass continues to grow or affect any other functions.

Otherwise my plan is to land and go immediately to Gainesville to hold my best friend and thank him for being the most amazing gift in my life.

I am struggling to comprehend what has happened in the last 15 hours. It is the most horrific of nightmares, coupled with the fact Mother Nature has thrown us a blizzard, shutting down the airport and roads, cutting off power and causing intermittent cell phone service. All of it is preventing me from getting to my child when he needs me most.