Day 9

Home!!!!

Yes, it's true. We're all under one roof again tonight. Routine is an immediate pleasure. Jennifer and I got home with JG at around 6:00. Over the course of the next 15 minutes, each kid was dropped off individually by a different friend as well as an outstanding home-cooked meal that reminded me of a dish my mom and grandma served growing up. Jacob was immediately shooting hoops, Jensen was playing with her dollhouse and it felt good to all be within ear-shot of one another.

A minute before it was time to leave the hospital I caught this smile from Janie Grace. Apparently, Jennifer and I weren't the only ones ready to be home!

Today's hospital activities included removal of JG's stitches where her drains were placed (the wound's three layers of stitches will dissolve). Surprisingly, they got some blood from her heel for the 2nd straight day. They heated her feet for a long time each day and got enough to do most of the tests they wanted. The reason for the 2nd blood draw was an elevated Thyroid level on Tuesday. Kids with Down Syndrome are pre-disposed to thyroid issues and coming out of major surgery can be a trigger point. Fortunately, for now, her thyroid has been ruled as stable. That will be something that she routinely has checked throughout her life. Also, they got us set up with a heart monitor that she'll wear for 48 hours at home in order to see if she has an abnormal heart rhythm that they were getting contradicting information on in the hospital (the monitor is no more a nuisance than the feeding tube). Strangely, they can monitor it remotely so I guess it's bouncing off of a satellite! It's not unusual for the doctors to detect an abnormal rhythm coming out of surgery but they want to establish a baseline as then begin to track it. Over time it could go away or be treated with medicine. At this point, there isn't much reason for concern. Lastly, the final ultrasounds on her heart over the last couple days showed no reason for concern as the small amount of fluid around her heart is not progressive.

This next picture is of Janie catching a digital vibe today. At this point she was probably listening to Five for Fighting's song "100 Years". Oddly, Janie loves that song and has (on multiple occasions) immediately calmed down after hearing just a couple measures when all worked up.

Finally, Dr. U (the heart surgeon) obliged Jennifer's request for a picture (or 15) with Janie Grace this afternoon. We've often asked ourselves the last week, "what do we say to the man who's skilled hands and brilliant mind basically saved our daughter's life in order to properly demonstrate our appreciation?" We have to trust that our tears of joy post-surgery and again today from Jennifer are adequate. From where I sit, he certainly deserves every penny United Healthcare is going to pay him! All kidding aside, besides his expertise, we appreciated the sensitivity he showed to us and the obvious care and concern he shows his patients as these pics illustrate. (We also acknowledge that supporting his success is a team of talented individuals who don't get the noteriety of a primary surgeon but that are nearly as important.)

I made it all the way through this post with no mention of JG's eating...we'll save that for another day.

Finally, this will mark the formal end of my daily Janie G updates. There's something to this whole blogging thing. I may have to keep it going, but it'll probably morph into something focused on the lives of all three kids and the crazy & cute things they say and do. For example, Jensen told Jennifer tonight that she wants Jennifer to be a stuffed animal pet so that Jennifer will snuggle with her all night long. (Maybe a blog will allow Jennifer to send 120 pictures out/month via Kodakgallery instead of 150.) Whatever the case, I would imagine that if you check back in a week, there will probably have been a post or two...just not 3/day!

In all seriousness, we recognize that this has ended up being a tool that has allowed hundreds of people to pray for our family the past 9 days. We're humbled by the support we've received and the prayers that have been lifted by people we'll never meet. Simply...Thank You!