I called Jared for updates this morning, just trying to see when I should come back to the hospital depending on when they might release James. Jared mentioned James' blood pressure was up a bit, and he was just waiting for rounds to see what the doctors thought in terms of a timeline. James had taken his meds very well all night to the degree that they had removed his NG tube around 11, which I was super pleased to hear-it was just his blood pressure that would be the deciding factor. Around 10:45am, Jared called back to say the doctors were discharging James, hopefully by 1:30 or so. Jackson and I jumped in the car to head to the hospital. Jared hadn't eaten breakfast, so he ran down to the cafeteria once we arrived. During that time, I ordered James lunch, played with him for a while, took a walk, and fed him ice cream that was waiting in the freezer overnight for him. He ate half of it, and then fell asleep on the bed-about 5 minutes before lunch arrived! I figured it would be good for him to nap before heading home, so I let him sleep while I cleaned and packed the room up. Olga came in around 1:00pm and we woke James up to give him his last round of meds and to change his dressings. This was the first time I saw his incision. I knew what to expect, so I think that prepared me, but it still overwhelmed me to consider what having an incision like that means. It looks very flat on his chest, which is great because his chest was kind of concave after his first surgery-I hope it heals like that! The only bad part if the physician who took out his chest tubes did not put a stitch in them. Thus, those two spots look like gaping holes, which I am not too happy about....I'm trying to remind myself, if that's the worst I have to complain about, we are doing pretty good. We cleaned the incision well, and got James dressed to head home.
After going through all the discharge information with Olga, we got the prescriptions filled at the pharmacy, grabbed a ton of thickening packets to take home, and took one last walk around the halls. James was so excited to be in regular clothes, he kept trying to push the stroller to the elevators in an attempt to leave. We said good bye to Olga, the nurses/doctors in the hall, and of course, to the 5th floor pig that we always remember as a symbol of the entire experience. With that, we strolled out of the hospital around 2:30, so very grateful to have James with us as his very normal self.
The kids are so happy to see James and are doing a great job minding his incision and not hugging him too much. Several extended family members came over to see James, who proudly wore his Beads of Courage necklaces and readily lifted his shirt to show off his incision. I'll have him sleep in my room tonight on a camping cot, just to make sure he is okay. He ate a full bowl of chex for dinner, and downed meds in OJ with very few problems once we made it clear it was either that or a syringe full of medicine. Right now, giving him that choice is necessary, and I have no problem keeping up with that three times a day if it means he is taking his meds. He doesn't seem to be in much pain at all, and is just acting like he hasn't even been gone for a week.
We are so very blessed. Words could never express how blessed we are to not only have James back with us, but to have HIM here, and not just a shell of James. We were super worried that his mentality or emotional stability would be altered after surgery and a traumatic hospital stay---that just isn't the case and we feel so very, very blessed for that fact. We love the Lord and fully recognize his hand in everything. Our ward family and extended families have been instrumental in supporting us through this journey, and we feel doubly humbled because of this service.
All in all, we are blessed...its difficult to end this mini series with any thought other than that.
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