After a long 10 days of being in NY for surgery and recovery we finally landed back in LA late Monday night. Eli was thrilled to finally feel some normalcy after being in surgery, ICU, POU, shared room, stuffed in a small hotel room and just not being in a normal surrounding and far away from home. While he is extremely weak from everything going on we hope to help him slowly regain his strength and to get his spirits lifted to the way they were before surgery and the way we know him.

We are hoping that it will be ok with the doctors to postpone the next round of chemo until next week as we really don’t feel physically or emotionally Eli is ready for it and we definitely are not up to it either. Sori and Ari are extremely happy and relieved to finally see Eli home and we hope they get some bonding time together before next round of chemo.

There are many organizations that have helped tremendously on behalf of Eli in many different aspects and we can’t thank them enough. This entire trip to NY would not have been possible at all without Chai Lifeline. They arranged EVERYTHING for us and made it as if it was no big deal and always done quickly with no fan fare. I don’t have proper words of hakaras hatov.

Please continue to daven for Elimelech Ben Basya that he should fully regain his strength and spirit. We hope to see him shortly with his bubbly personality and full of strength BKAROV

We had a very relaxed morning with some friends and family that came to visit Eli in our hotel. Eli then insisted on going to Monsey to see his cousins which he has been wanting to do since we got to NY and now I can see why. They did not disappoint as for when we got there a lot of his cousins, aunts, and uncles took the drive and set up a big welcoming and a full party in his honor. He spent the afternoon there eating pizza, cake and laughing with the family he will remember today for a long time.

On Monday morning Eli has a DR appt at MSKCC to check that all is ok which IYH will be the case and we hope soon after we get the ok to head back to LA. Being that he has a very long, very invasive surgery done just over a week ago we hope that the organizations that help children with cancer fly on a private jet will be able to help so that Eli can be most comfortable and most of all away from the many germs that are Ina commercial flight. While we look forward to getting Eli back home to be with his mother, brother, sister and the rest of the family unfortunately he will be going right back to CHLA for round 6 of chemo. We hope to get a night or 2 prior to spend at home but that all depends on when we get back to LA.

We hope the DRs will continue to be happy with the way Elimelech Ben Basya is recuperating from the surgery and we will continue davening
that he will be cleared to fly home beezrat hashem either on Monday or Tuesday so we can continue treatment.

A GUT VOCH. BH VERY good unexpected news the DRs felt on Shabos morning that the only tube left that was still attached to Eli was safe to remove. With a deep breath it came right out and Eli was beyond relieved. He immediately sat up and started asking for food and although he has eaten since surgery it was nothing like this. First it was a nice bowl of cereal and then it was a full meal of chulent, kugel, cold cuts in his hospital bed. We got a visit from my cousin who took the one hour walk from the West Side and hung out with us and it really made the boring shabos in the hospital a lot better. The good news continued shortly after that with the DR saying Eli was well enough to be discharged from the hospital which initially wasn’t planned until at least Tuesday.

We waited until Shabos was over and we went directly to our room we have down the block at the Ronald Mcdonald and relaxed there all motzei shabos with some family visitors that shlepped to come see us. Eli ate some pizza tonight and just relaxed which he really needed and enjoyed as he is extremely tired still. We have a scheduled visit early Monday morning to IYH get the all clear from the surgeon to be able to travel back to LA and we hope to do that as quick as possible after we get that clearance.

We are continuing to daven that the new for Elimelech Ben Basya continues to stay only good and positive and hope to be back in LA as quickly and as soon as possible.

Eli was moved today out of the POU into a regular room today which is a big step forward before he can be released. While we are very happy that he has reached the point that they were ok to move him the new regular room is a small shared room which hopefully won’t be to noisy so that we both can get some rest over shabos. The DRs continue to be bli ayin hora very pleased with Elis recuperation and Eli is very much on track to IYH being discharged in the early part of the week.

We also received some VERY good news from DR Kushner in NY that the biopsy that they did during this recent surgery on Elis liver BH came back negative and that there was no disease affecting it. Other then IV which he is always on when in the hospital he has only one tube left that needs to be removed and hopefully that will be the case in the near future. We are both looking forward to spending quality relaxing time bedside in MSKCC over shabos and are happy that Bassy is back relaxing with Sori and Ari in LA.

Shabos hee melizuk hopefully will be very much in play this shabos as we hope that things will continue on a steady good pace for Elimelech Ben Basya and Binyomin Chaim Ben Faigie Sara (Elis local LA partner) bsoch shaar choley yisroel.

BH we can add another good day to the list. Eli is slowly getting back to himself and was able to walk a little, eat real solid foods, and even seemed to finally be getting some of his bubbly personality back. It has been a rough week for him but as always he has pulled thru and IYH will be discharged from the hospital and head back to LA as soon as the doctors feel he is ready for that possibly even early in the week.

After the surgery Eli was on 6 different IVs and had 5 different tubes attached and bli ayin hora that is down to one IV and one tube which is also meant to be coming out soon. He is now in a room in Sloan hospital called the POU (pediatric observation unit) which is a private room unlike many other rooms here which are shared. He doesn’t BH need to be in this room but is being kept there at our and Chai Lifelines request so that he has some quiet to recuperate from surgery.

It is very good to be back in NY and to see BH the many improvements Elimelech Ben Basya has had since the time I left Monday evening and IYH that will continue at a even quicker pace. I look forward to meeting Dr Brian Kushner on Friday who is the main DR in this field here at Sloan and hearing any advice and ideas he may have for down the road for Eli. He also is the DR that insisted that we come to NY for surgery for Eli and we now see why he felt that way.

Bli ayin hora the good news started in the morning and continued most of the day. The doctors felt this morning that Eli was strong enough that he can have the tube that was in his nose since surgery removed and that he is also strong enough to be moved out of the ICU and into Sloan Hospital. Although Eli himself needs to be cheered up a little the news for us couldn’t of been much better as we were not really expecting this until at earliest Thursday. Eli even walked on his own for the first time since surgery after they had planned that he will need physical therapy to help him back on his feet.

So basically all in all under the circumstances Eli had a great day. IYH on Thursday Bassy and I will switch places and I will head back to NY and Bassy will head back to LA. We are hoping that Eli only continues improving from this point on as hopefully the doctors will allow him to be released sooner then we hoped for.

There are some people that you can always count on and when you need something they are ALWAYS ready to help. Eli needed a simple small thing today and Bassy was alone and I made a call and boom it was arranged and there within 15 minutes. Another example I was looking for mileage to get Bassy back home and had many offers of people trying to help but as usual its the same people that always come thru and always want to remain anonymous and we owe them and many others extreme hakaras hatov.

On a separate note as much as Bassy is Elis mother and of course cares the most for him there is no way any of us could get thru this trying time without her upbeat mood. She has always been there every second and always ready to try to do more to continuously do what’s best for Eli, myself and the rest of the family. The last few days have been extremely difficult seeing Eli on a vent, in pain, not sleeping, uncomfortable, and sometimes rightfully so angry and thru it all she has always kept her smile and strength which is the reason I am able to keep my head help up high and why Eli is having a easier time to. Eli is the luckiest child in the world to have such a loving and caring mother and I am the luckiest man in the world and all I can simply say is THANK YOU BASSY.

The next few days we will continue davening that the pace only picks up speed in Elmelech Ben Basyas recovery so that he can be released from the hospital asap and return to LA to be with his brother and sister and back to a little normalcy before we continue treatment in CHLA.

Bli ayin hora we have some good news that will IYH be the beginning of only good news. This morning the doctors were finally confident enough that Eli was able to breath on his own and were able to remove the vent. Once it was out they were also able to remove the restraints that had Elis hands tied down so they he doesn’t just pull out the vent which he tried doing many times due to the fact of how uncomfortable it was. Hopefully on Wednesday they will also be able to remove the line he has in his nose to help drain fluids from within his body. Each step takes time and he has to have reached certain numbers to allow for each thing to happen.

They haven’t let Eli eat solids yet and is being fed via IV but he did drink and chew on some ice chips which helped his sore throat which is sore as a result of the vent that was inside for nearly 3 full days. We hope to get a idea of what the timetable in NY will look like tmrw so we will be able to decide on if I will go back alone or if we will bring the other kids to NY as they are not themselves without Bassy or Eli and we don’t want them not seeing each other for such an extended period of time.

Eli was visited by many family members and friends which he sometimes enjoyed and sometimes wasn’t really up to it. He has and will IYH always have either Bassy or myself ALWAYS with him when he’s in the hospital as that’s who he feels most comfortable with and we can’t deny him anything when he’s going thru such a tough period.

I have only begun to realize how much help our children Ari and Sori received in the few days that we were gone in NY from being brought to school, receiving a lot of love and extra care in school by their morah, teachers, principles etc, fed, played with, family and friends sleeping in our home with them so that they should feel at home and the list goes on and on. As always I will continue to say we can not and will not properly be able to thank these people and we know that IYH the ultimate schar we would like to see and the world to see is Elimelech Ben Basyas FULL RECOVERY and nothing less IYH BKAROV.

Last night and today felt like it would never end for us. We were given initially wrong information as to how long we should expect to be in the ICU for. First we were told possibly not at all but if he does go it will be anywhere from a few hours to 2 days. That info was completely incorrect and we are being told now by the doctors that since the surgery was as invasive as it was and as long as it was if he is out of the ICU within a week from when he got there we should be very happy.

The reason we are anxious to get out of the ICU now is because they need to see that he can do certain things on his own and therefore his sedation has been wearing off. And while its good to see Eli up and responsive he is extremely uncomfortable having the tubes in his nose and throat and not being able to talk or do much while being fully understanding of what’s going on. He is on a lot of pain medication but it doesn’t keep him sedated. The doctors have seen significant improvement and most of the numbers they need to see are either already there or close to it however they won’t remove it until all the numbers are there and stay that way for a period of time as gd forbid they should remove it and then feel he needs it and then have to replace it which is another procedure.

Eli was visited by some family and friends along with Mrs Esther Schwartz from Chai lifeline who helped us arrange this surgery and arrange our NY stay etc. Sori and Ari haven’t been themselves and I had to make a hard decision and leave Eli in NY with Bassy and head back to LA to be with them. Hopefully Elis recuperation will IYH pick up a lot of speed and they will be able to move the process along so that Eli will be back in LA asap.

Please daven for Elimelech Ben Basya that he should not have any further pain and should be released from the ICU asap so he can move along in the recovery process and be able to head back to LA for further treatments.

The day went as good as can be expected according to the doctors. There were bli ayin hora none of the complications that we were warned to expect. While Eli is still for the most part under heavy sedation he still opens his eyes here and there for short periods of time and can communicate a little with squeezing and shaking his head. They have to restrain his hands so that he doesn’t try to pull out the many different machines he Is hooked up to.

They are hoping that by the morning Eli will IYH be stable enough that they can remove the tubes in his nose and mouth slowly. After they feel he is ready to do that and when that process is done he will be off of sedation but will continue to receive pain medication thru IV and thru the epidoral they have him hooked up to. Then there are many more steps they need to do before they can discharge him from the ICU to a regular room and that may all take place as soon as Monday night but more likelly not until Tuesday or so.

Eli got visits today from his bubby and zaidy from Lakewood and some of his uncles and aunts. While it was hard for them to see Eli in the current state he is in it helped that he was able to let them know that he saw them by squeezing their fingers and shaking his head yes and no to their questions and of course the main question was always are you in pain which he has always said “no” to BH.

We have our other children being well taken care of by family and close friends and being that the kids weren’t given any notice that we were going to NY because we weren’t sure until a few minutes before we left they are pretty traumatized and therefore I will IYH be leaving NY back to LA if all goes well on Monday night and stay until Thursday and then will head back to NY and let Bassy go back to LA and I will stay in NY until Eli is ready to come home.

We have been flooded with reports of so many different things being done in Elimelech Ben Basya zchus its truly amazing and heart warming and never will we be possibly be able to thank anyone properly. IYH we will all dance at Elis seudas hodah when this saga is over.

A GUT VOCH. We had a very long day but BH all seems to have gone well. We were in the pre-op room at 6AM and they wheeled Eli into the surgery room already sedated at 730. We met again just before that with the surgeon and anesthesiologist who gave us the plan once again. A nurse came out of the OR every 90 minutes or so with a small basic update but the surgery finally ended at 5PM. The DR came out and told us what went on and felt that because of the length of the surgery that Eli should be in the ICU for about 2 days so Eli was transferred by ambulance 2 blocks away to Cornell Hospital which has a special ICU.

The DR said the surgery went as well as he had hoped for BH and he removed everything that was affected. Eli now has a pretty large incision that will take some time to heal and IYH will. He is now attached to numerous machines all which are standard after a surgery and it will be at least 24-48 hours before they want him to fully wake up. He will be on continuous pain medication so that he will rest comfortably and that he should stay sedated and not want to pull any of the machines attached to him out.

The next few days will go based on how Eli reacts and feels and will be very closely monitored by a team of doctors, nurses, surgeons etc. As soon as he no longer needs to be in the ICU he will be transferred back to Sloan Kettering Hospital where he will stay until they feel he is ready to be discharged which can be as little as 5 days or as long as it takes but probably closer to 10 days from now.

We thank everyone literally from across the world who have done many different zechusim on behalf of Elimelech Ben Basya some who davened early, davened longer, woke up early to say tehilim when the surgery started, davened at the kosel and the list is endless. I can honestly say we were literally able to feel it and appreciate it and will need it continuously this week and in the weeks and months ahead until we see Eli have the full refua he needs BKAROV.