Intubated pediatric patient plays thumb war with sister.

This is our warrior Lota a few days after a massive brain surgery to remove a very aggressive teratoma (germ-cell brain tumor). This was was a brutal surgery (according to his neurosurgeon, it's one of the hardest and most dangerous surgeries he performs on patients) and we were starting to wonder what kind of neurological damage our boy will have. As days went by, we were starting to feel the stress of the unknown. Did our Lota suffer a major brain injury during surgery? Can he hear us? Will he be able to open his eyes? Will he be able to speak to us? So on this particular day we had his oldest sister come by and play her ukulele for him. Then she started playing thumb war with her brother. As Lota's Mom, I always knew he is a fighter! But to see him respond to his sister that day brought so much joy to all of us, and even though my voice was calm that day in the video, my heart was filled with so much gratitude and happiness. Even though Lota now lives with a brain injury from this surgery, we are happy to report, he is cancer free. The amazing neuro team at Rady Children San Diego was able to remove the 99% of the tumor and annihilate the rest with an electric laser.