Home Sweet Home

Yes, it is true. We were discharged from the hospital and arrived home around 2:30 this afternoon. They said his echo today looked the same as the echo they did after his surgery in the OR. They also said however, that he did have some mildly decreased function and a bit of regurgitation in one of his valves. This was the first I'd heard of any of this but no one seemed too concerned. It does concern me however because this if this ventricle looses too much function, it's the only one he has. I'll have to talk with the cardiologist about it when he goes to clinic on Sept. 26th for his post op visit.

Ethan has come home on 8 different medications which I have to give him all throughout the day and night. And for the most part he is pretty pleasant. He definitely gets grumpy and cries a lot when it is getting close to time for his pain meds. And he doesn't like to be alone. If I even leave the room, he will usually start to fuss.

I had been told prior to his surgery that most of his recovery period would take place at home, but I'd never expected to get sent home this early. I didn't even have any of his clothes at the hospital for him to wear home. They had to give me a T-shirt. I know that he went into this surgery strong, but he came home in the amount of time that our C-sections go home where I work. And this is obviously more extreme. In fact, I felt like we were behind schedule when they couldn't get him off of the ventilator as soon as they would have liked. But after that happened we just went on warp speed. It makes me feel like I was over reacting and that people won't believe me when I talk about what a serious, life threatening, heart condition he has.

I shouldn't be baffled at his strength and his determination to beat the odds. I know that we've been blessed with an amazing support system and that the Lord is watching over us. But because we have been so blessed, I feel an extra pressure to live worthy of those blessings. I feel so indebted to all of you. I know that Ethan has a mission to fulfill on this earth and I am so glad to see him doing well.

---Allison