Day 10 - Bringing Awareness of Awesome!

Day 10 - October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month!!!

WE'RE HOME! Hallelujah! Bradley did great today, better than we expected or maybe even feared. He is such an active boy, holding him down is always, always, so much work. The morning started in stages... 1:50 am...turn off the feeding pump...4:30 am...keep from launching the alarm clock through the nearest window or doorway...and find the shower. Surprisingly, we weren't the only ones on the road that early, bu luckily the traffic problems were all somewhere south of us. We checked into the Old part of Cottage Hospital and were given passes and directions to the temporary Pediatric ward (the old ICU). We were put into a room with all glass doors and a curtain, a little odd. I assessed my probably hotel room for the night and realized there was no bathroom, further assessment and I learned that I had to trek through the outer hospital halls to find a bathroom on my floor. Wondering how i was going to possibly turn into a Camel for the night, we tried to keep Bradley calm till surgery. Don't know why surgeons run later, but they do and Bradley really was not pleased by the delay...mostly he just wanted some milk...maybe some yogurt...you know breakfast. But in the midst we got to see some familiar faces, and that was reassuring. No one was happy that he needed surgery, but we were all happy to be standing in the same room together again.

As his anxiety peaked, he was given a Fisher Price Laptop to play with...it was so enthralling he rode all the way to the pre-op sitting up and playing with it, didn't even notice the trip. Because he was so in love with this toy, he was told to take the toy home with him. :-) Lucky Boy! He went to sleep fighting and woke up the same way, but his Oxygen levels were really good and he didn't need any breathing treatments or medication, so we were thrilled. The surgeon fixed his hernia and the Anesthesiologist (and the maturity of Bradley's body) worked to help him come out of surgery well and led the docs to write the order that he could go home after he successfully ate something. He took a nice long nap then woke up signing that he was ready to eat. And he was! He got to break in a brand new high chair and ate refried beans, sweet potatoes and chicken soup. Everyone was thrilled and within the hour we were on our way home again.

Bradley slept the whole way with his new laptop on his lap. We made it in time to pick the girls up from school, and both of them cried the moment they saw us. We held them tightly and showed them their brother safe and sound. Such worried little girls; so much more than they should know. But they rebounded well and managed to be fighting with each other before the hour was up. Nice that life can get back to normal so easily! Still, so good to be home and have the family back together again. Maybe now our littlest gosling can begin to heal and continue to grow stronger everyday.

Really difficult day with a really wonderful end! So relieved and Blessed! So grateful!