40 Days Finished

WEEK 5

Monday started well.  As soon as Caroline got unhooked, we took a walk around the hospital.  The library was open, so we hung out there.  We played Chutes and Ladders and Hungry, Hungry Hippos.  We read all the little kid Halloween books.  Then Caroline found a Dr. Seuss tongue twister book and loved it.  We checked it out and brought it back to her room.  Once we reached her room, however, she said she had a headache.  She wanted the blinds closed and she laid in bed.  She said it wasn't the same headache as before, but she also couldn't describe it with much detail.  Her heart rate was elevated as well.  Fortunately, there was no fever.  She fell asleep and she ended up taking a four-hour nap.  When she woke, she was talkative and feeling a bit better.  

On Tuesday, things were status quo and I left Caroline early afternoon to bring the boys up to the hospital.  We were hoping they could meet Angus.  Angus arrived at his usual time and after a brief nap on Caroline's bed, we got to go to the 5th floor and play fetch again.  The boys were able to pet him, though they showed incredible restraint in the face of such cuteness.  

Once we parted ways with Angus, we walked around the hospital a little more and ended up getting more robot frozen yogurt.  One of the flavors had changed, so we had to give it a try.  

On Wednesday, Caroline made sure she was unhooked to make it back to the library.  It was Angus's time to hangout unleashed.  She scratched him all over and then he laid beside us while we played memory.  When we ignored him for too long, he tried to look extra cute to entice more belly rubs.  

That day the pediatrician on staff asked Caroline what she wanted to do when she grew up.  Without hesitation, she immediately responded, "Not a nurse!"  That got a chuckle.  She has expressed interest in doing what Angus's trainer does - bringing joy to other kids in the hospital.  

While the boys and I were at CC later in the week, Angus came for one last visit.  It was their very last time together.  Meg, the trainer, gave Caroline an Angus stuffed animal and a note from Angus.  It was very, very sweet and really made her day.  Angus has made the whole hospital stay so pleasant.  The anticipation of his coming and the joy of his presence.  He was the best therapy dog ever.  

This week all hospital food lost its luster.  Even the sausage biscuits in the morning were a no-go.  When Caroline ordered her food on her own, she would get carrot sticks, French fries, and a cookies-and-cream desert cup.  That's it.  Lunch and dinner.

The boys on the other hand ate better this week because our CC friends dropped off food for them.  Henry texted me one afternoon asking me to thank the mom who had just brought food.  He told me, "I think it's homemade!"  We have really great friends and are so thankful for their help.  

The boys made it up to visit at different times this week.  While Josiah was at church on Wednesday night, Henry came to see Caroline.  

Then on Friday, when Henry was at a friend's house for a movie night, Josiah came up to the hospital.  Child Life had given Caroline a gem digging kit, so they did that for a bit.  When we first opened the kit and started digging, there was quite a bit of dust in the air.  It didn't seem totally conducive to healthy lungs.  So, we watered down the silt-like material and then dug.  No dust.  There were 15 gems to be found and she enjoyed the dig.  (Henry's movie night was The Goonies.  His synopsis? "It was weird."  Yeah, but 80s weird, so it was good, right?)

On Saturday, we took one last walk to all the favorite places.  The echo dome was high on the list.

As the week was coming to a close, the doctors were giving us all our instructions for home care.  Because Caroline was not continuing the blood thinners, she could resume normal activities after 24 hours.  That seemed obscenely fast given all that has happened, but because she did not have anything concussive, that was the case.  I'm not sure we'll throw her into everything come Monday morning, but good to know we could.  

Last morning:

Caroline was most worried about the PICC line removal.  The hardest part was taking out the two stitches.  But after that, the PICC line just swooped right out - she never felt a thing.  She does have to keep it dry for 24 hours, so her long awaited shower has been put off for another day.  

As we walked out of the unit, the nurses lined up against the walls and sang, "Na-na-na-na.  Na-na-na-na.  Hey, Hey, Hey.  Goodbye."  There were big smiles all around and many thanks given.  

Everyone has been telling Caroline, You must be so happy to go home.  She is, but she will also miss the hospital a lot.  Angus tops the list by far.  His soft fur and gentle demeanor will be sorely missed.  She will miss getting an ice cream dessert cup for lunch and dinner.  She will miss her snack of Pringles or Ruffles at 11 p.m. every day.  She will miss eating in bed, having a bed that moves, and too much time playing games on her phone.  She's going to miss all the medical staff as well.  She liked her nurses and PCAs (Patient Care Assistants - they took her vitals, and checked all her intake and output).  When the nurses asked her how excited she was to go back home, she said a 7 1/2.   The reality of getting back into the groove of things probably knocked it down a few notches.  So it'll take some time to transition. 

We took some pictures outside before walking to the car.  She tried to recreate a picture from 2017. 

 

The boys tried to recreate old photos when they came up to visit, too.  They remarked at how small the balls had gotten since the last time they jumped on them.  She is at the same hospital where we used to do the Family Fun Run many years ago before COVID put an end to that.

Before we entered the house, we had the boys bring Benson to the backyard.  Caroline sat on the couch.  I went outside to see Benson to rid him of his initial excitement (because he gets excited when I come home from the hospital every day).  He had his zoomies, and then we brought him inside and waited until he noticed Caroline.  As soon as he saw her, he got very excited.  His tail went in a windmill loop that we had never seen before.  He just ran in circles and sniffed her a lot.  

She requested her first meal back to be spaghetti.  I appreciated the simple meal because it had been over a month since I had cooked as well.  

The end of the journey.  She'll always have a story to tell of God's goodness and grace through it all.