Discharged

Somewhere around 11 the Pediatrician came in to talk to us. JP had yet to have any food but had managed to keep two popsicles safe at home in his belly. His Pulse Ox was still a little too low while he slept but it was nice and steady when he was awake. We were told to order some breakfast and see how that settled.

The Ped also told me that we were taking this slowly and that I wasn’t to get my hopes up about going home that day. That maybe it just might be better to wait and see.

Hubs arrived back to the Hosiple around lunch time with Pluto that had gone home for a bath and sent me upstairs to the Ronald McDonald Room for a shower. They even gave me a toiletry kit. After a refreshing shower I hit the cafeteria for some dinner/breakfast/lunch whatever you want to call it since I really hadn’t eaten since lunch the day before (it’s ok, I have some stored up like a bear).

To my surprise when I returned Hubs had been given the ok for discharge and we were now just waiting on paperwork and final preparations. I was not overly thrilled. I was not overly optimistic. And….. I was not happy.

We packed up and got ready for discharge. Don’t forget our Pluto. Our escort, AJ, was the highlight of our Hosiple stay and I wish we had met him sooner.

When we arrived at our car, we began to hear our name being chanted by a volunteer chasing after us. She got to us and joked that when she heard we were with AJ she knew she better hustle. She handed us two gift bags. Inside them were coloring books, crayons, a soft little puppy dog and a get well card. The card was signed by Lisa & Jeff and was a much needed surprise from a very stressful hosiple stay. JP rode home with the puppy in his lap and the card in his hand. I rode home admiring the new friendships we have built in the past few years.   

We arrived home by 5 and JP and I were in bed by 7:30; until 11pm and then again somewhere around 3, having missed our bucket. Nothing like changing sheets, spot cleaning carpets, running laundry and taking a hot steamy shower in the middle of the night to make you wish you were sleeping on a cot in a Hosiple room.

By 10:30 the next morning (or is that considered that morning?), we were back in the Peds Office trying to figure out why we just couldn’t kick this. The Peds Assistant prescribed a steroid for the cough and told us that the fever could last until Sunday. Anything after that would warrant another call to them.

Slowly, but surly, we have moved past the fever and the vomiting and are now left with a residual cough. We are continuously being asked if JP feels better.

Today he told PopPop, while eyeing the cookies on the dining room table “when I was in the Hosiple, all I wanted was a tookie, Pop.”

I think he’s feeling much much better.