Leaving the Hospital!

Today was a GREAT day! We got to this morning and were anxiously waiting for the doctors to round on Caden so we could take him home. We had to wait awhile because they haven't been rounding until later in the day. But they made sure to do him first so we could get on our way. But the morning was filled with making sure we had all the right paperwork, making sure all the follow-up doctor appointments had been made with Caden's doctors in Sacramento, and just gathering all his belongings and supplies together. It's amazing how much time that can all take!

One of the cardiovascular surgeons came by to look at Caden's latest incision from the removal of the defective catheter. He said the sutures need to come out about two weeks after the surgery. That would be a week from this Sunday. We asked if our cardiologist could take them out. He said he wasn't comfortable with it because they use a product on the incisions here to help prevent infections that other doctors don't use. Because of this he said they want to remove the sutures themselves and also to make sure the wound is healing well. So they want us to come back in another week to have them taken out. We were joking with the surgeon that he needed to come to Sacramento and make a house call to remove the sutures. He said he might actually be willing to do that. We were surprised to say the least. But he said he might be going over to Sacramento anyway and if he did, he would be more than willing to do that for us. We will see what actually happens. He gave us his cell phone number and told us to call him on Thursday so we could decide what we needed to do. It would be great if he came to our house so we didn't have to make another trip over here so soon. But we'll see...

By the time they got everything taken care of and we were free to go, it ended up being after 1 pm. It was the strangest feeling to be able to pick up my baby and walk out of the room with him. He wasn't attached to anything and we could just leave. Today was the first day I got to hold Caden without a single tube, wire, or cord attached to him. After 8 weeks of leaving him at the hospital when we left, it felt very surreal to be able to take him with us. It was very strange, but wonderful at the same time.

Before we left the hospital, we made a visit to NICU to see if Caden's primary nurse, Irene, was working so we could say goodbye. Luckily she was there. She had been off for the last week and today was her first day back. We were glad she was there so we could let her know we were leaving and she could see Caden again. We wanted a picture with her with all three of us. She gave us her email address so we could keep in touch and we can send her pictures of Caden, etc.

Then, after leaving NICU, we went to CVICU to say goodbye to the nurses there and Amy, in particular. She had come up to Caden's room on her morning break to cuddle him for a few minutes. But we wanted to get a picture with her and the three of us as well. So we said goodbye to her and several other staff there before finally making our way down to the entrance. I put Caden in his car seat and we took him out to the car. It felt so weird to be able to drive away with him in the car with us.

Because we weren't sure what time Caden would be discharged and we didn't want to stress about trying to get checked out of the Ronald McDonald House by 10 am. So, we told them we were going to stay until Saturday. That way we didn't have to worry about rushing around, getting everything packed up and ready and then getting Caden and driving home in Friday afternoon traffic. So, we brought Caden back to RMH this afternoon, gave him his first feeding outside of the hospital and then he took a nice nap. He enjoyed quite a bit of awake time while we ate our dinner and then while we were back in our room packing. He just looked around and watched what we were doing. It was so sweet! He sleeps well so far and hopefully that continues. It's hard to say how he will do once he is able to stay on a schedule without it being interrupted for some procedure or another.

We are so looking forward to driving home tomorrow. Kyler has spent the last days with Natalie so we will stop and pick him up on our way home and we will have our homecoming all together as a family. It should be wonderful! Thank you all for your prayers as we have gone on this long journey. We know it is far from over and we hope you will continue to pray for us as we get adjusted to life at home. We will try to keep you updated on Caden's progress.

Saying goodbye to our social worker, Emily
All dressed and ready to go
Getting ready to leave the hospital
Saying goodbye to our primary CVICU nurse, Amy
Saying goodbye to primary NICU nurse, Irene
In carseat all ready to drive away!