After spending more than a month in Baltimore, Md., enduring surgery that removed half of her brain, six-year-old Jessie Hall of Aledo is finally heading “home.”
Overcoming fevers that have popped up during her stay at Kennedy Krieger Institute for rehabilitation, doctors released Jessie on Thursday, July 17. The Hall family is scheduled to fly home today (Friday, July 18) where they will check into Cook Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth to continue Jessie’s inpatient therapy.
“It’s not to be totally like being home because Jessie will still be up at Cook’s, but it will be nice to be close to our friends and our family,” her father, Cris Hall, said Wednesday from Baltimore.
He said he and his wife, Kristi, are most looking forward to see their three sons again and being able to spend time with them. Jessie is also excited to get to see her brothers on a regular basis, Cris added.
It is estimated that the young girl will continue therapy at Cook’s for several weeks before returning to Aledo to continue rehab on an outpatient basis.
While the farewell for Jessie was large, the family and close friends are hoping to keep her homecoming relatively small for now. Caren Jennings, who has been coordinating events for Jessie since April, said an “official” welcome home is being planned in the future.
“There are some plans in the works for a big Aledo family-style picnic, with a musician, and fun activities, to be held on a Saturday night at Bearcat Park,” Jennings said. “This will be after Jessie has been home for a couple of weeks, and the family has had time to be together again.”
To help with the picnic, call Jennings at 817-308-8654 or e-mail her at marypoppins@uwmail.com.
Cris Hall said that he is grateful to all those who have helped and for being so enthusiastic about Jessie’s return. He simply asked for one thing from those wanting to be a part of her story and the homecoming.
“They have carried us through the journey; the journey is coming to an end and, at this point, doing anything for us is covered,” he said. “There are some people who have wanted to buy Jessie things for homecoming and we are kind of discouraging that, even though we are so grateful that people would want to do that for her. If you really want to do something, send a donation into the Hemispherectomy Foundation. Thank God for all the people in Aledo who helped us through the journey.”
Donations to the foundation can be mailed to The Hemispherectomy Foundation, P.O. Box 1239, Aledo 76008, or by visiting prayforjessie.org.
For individuals wanting to lend a helping hand to the Halls, Suzi Prokell is scheduling meals to be brought to the family on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. For more information, call her at 817-594-1560, or e-mail her at sprokell@yahoo.com.