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North Texas Girl Back Home After Brain Surgery

GRAPEVINE (CBS 11 News) ― A little girl who underwent massive brain surgery is back in North Texas. Jessie Hall has spent the last six weeks in Baltimore, where half of her brain was removed by surgeons at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Hall was all smiles when she arrived back home on Friday night. Several family friends were at DFW Airport to greet her, all dressed in Hall's favorite color: pink.

It was an emotional homecoming for Hall and her parents. They did not know how everything was going to turn out when they left for Baltimore six weeks ago.

Jessie put everyone at ease with her good humor. "She's lost no cognitive function," said Cris Hall, Jessie's father.

Hall was suffering from Rasmussen's Encephalitis, a disease that was eating away at her brain and causing her to lose motor functions on the left side of her body.

After a radical surgery to remove half of her brain, the girl from Aledo is now learning to walk again. She is already talking and laughing, and saying that the first thing she wants to do now that she is back is, "See my brothers."

"Everyday is a miracle," said Kristi Hall, the little girl's mother. "A little more everyday."

CBS 11 News was the only media crew on Jessie's plane for the ride home. During the trip, Kristi Hall continued teaching the girl how to walk. "She did pretty well, keeping her balance walking back there," Kristi said.

The Hall family relied heavily on their faith, along with support from friends and family. "We just feel blessed to have what we have, and God has blessed us to move forward," Cris Hall said.

Hall will now undergo weeks of therapy at Cook Children's Medical Center.

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