With the community of East County and beyond watching and praying for the success of five-year-old Aaron Tanner’s heart and kidney transplant, life for the Brentwood family has begun to settle down. Aaron continues to improve from his rare and risky double-transplant surgery two weeks ago, and may be discharged from UCLA Medical Center as soon as this weekend.

Once released, Aaron and his mother Elizabeth will reside near the hospital for the next three months as doctors continue to monitor his progress.

“Aaron is doing so well,” Elizabeth said in an e-mail to The Press this week. “He took a short walk (Sunday), just a tiny one from his bed to the wheelchair and down the hallway. He’s doing great.”

Aaron’s father, Mark, and brothers, Nicholas and Noah, returned to Brentwood this week, and the boys have started back to school.

“Mark will be driving down with the boys on the weekends and they’ll have our family and the boy’s school and church there to help them,” said Elizabeth. “Our community has been so supportive. We are blessed to not have had to go through this alone.”

Some of those supporters will be participating in the Golden Gate Bridge Donate Life Walk this Saturday, Aug. 28. The 3.2 mile walk back and forth across the Golden Gate Bridge is sponsored by Organ-ize The Planet and the California Transplant Donor Network, and is dedicated to Aaron. The walk begins at 11 a.m. For more information on the walk or on organ donation, visit www.organizetheplanet.com.

To help offset the Tanner’s mounting medical bills and expenses, donations can be made at www.saveabrokenheart.com. Donations may also be made to the Tanner family fund at ECC Bank, 2251 Balfour Road in Brentwood.