Home Sweet Home

We are Home Sweet Home! Henry was discharged on Tuesday afternoon. After they removed his chest tube on Sunday, they still needed to closely monitor the fluid on his lungs. So after a restful night of sleep, Henry was busy on Monday with his morning wake up X-ray @ 6am, vitals, and an echocardiogram. His goal on Monday was to move around as much as possible. There still remained some fluid on the lungs, so the doctors were aggressive with the diuretics which forced Henry to get out of bed often and use the bathroom. This helped him meet his goal:-). He had great visits with his brothers and more therapy dogs. One of his furry friends was named Clyde, a 125 lb Newfoundland, who hung out in his bed with him. Ben, Will and Gramma left Monday around 4:30. They enjoyed the train ride back home. Thanks to the Ronald McDonald, they were able to stay the long weekend with us. Henry continued to get most of his meds via IV, but by Monday night, they were only using the central line for blood draws. He did NOT enjoy receiving his meds by mouth and continues to be frustrated. I'm still trying to understand that one. He was extremely restless on Monday night but I realized that he had not received any pain medicine all day. I finally convinced him at 3:30am to take some Ibuprofen to help him sleep. They did his morning X-ray on Tuesday and the wait game began. The Surgeon Nurse Practitioners needed to consult with the surgeons (who were in OR)to determine if Henry could go home. By noon, our nurse let us know that we were going home! Woohoo! However, due to the fluid, we would need to come back on Friday for a chest X-ray. So after getting our bag of goodies from the pharmacy, we were headed home to Dana Point. After Henry's four surgeries and various hospital stays, I'm learning that there will always be ups and downs. It's a bit like riding a roller coaster. We are very blessed to have our family and friends. If it wasn't for all these special people in our lives, the journey would not be as comforting. Also, CHLA is the best! It always amazes me at the brilliant and dedicated staff at the hospital. We thank the Lord everyday for our family!