Published: June 27, 2008 02:26 pm      

Aledo girl may come home soon

Carman Williams

cwilliams@weatherforddemocrat.com



Jessie Hall, the 6-year-old girl from Aledo who had the right half of her brain removed in order to treat her rare medical condition, may be coming home in less than three weeks.



A tentative release date was set for July 17, according to her father’s blog. Cris and Kristi Hall have updated the blog almost daily throughout their daughter’s ordeal, and people all over the world have followed Jessie’s story.



Last year, Jessie began showing signs of Rasmussen’s Encephalitis, a neurological condition similar to epilepsy. The left side of her body was constantly wracked by siezures, and if the infected right side of her brain was left intact, doctors believed the damage would be irreversable.



Following her surgery at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Jessie was transferred to the Kennedy Krieger Institute for physical and occupational therapy. On the blog, jessiekelley.blogspot.com, her parents repeatedly express their excitement at her improvements.



To show their gratitude for the outpouring of community support and to offer hope to other families affected by Rasmussen’s Encephalitis, the Halls founded the Jessie Hall Hemispherectomy Scholarship. The scholarship is designed to help young people who have gone through the same surgery as Jessie go on to college and a successful life.