Home for Christmas

 There is really no such thing as sleep at a hospital, and all through Saturday night I was thinking how thankful I was that the next day was Sunday, the Sabbath day.  I thought about the privilege of taking the Sacrament and how I could look forward to the strength I would gain by participating in that ordinance.  At 6:00 in the morning when the doctor stopped by to discuss the plan for the day, she indicated that Isaac would have a chest x-ray and if things were progressing in the right direction, he may be able to get his chest tube out that day.  Hooray!

Right before we headed off to x-ray, the surgical team stopped by and mentioned that the tube needed to be "bone dry" before they felt safe removing it, and it had drained a little more infected fluid throughout the night.  I felt torn because I certainly did not want them to leave infected fluid inside of Isaac, but I really wanted them to take the tube out too.

 When we got back from xray, our AMAZING nurse, Rosa, gave Isaac his first bed bath so he could get ready for church.  He wasn't too sure about having a bath in bed.

 Isaac and I talked about the Nativity that Grandma Holyoak sent, and then we went to church.  There is a branch at Primary Children's that meets every Sunday.  Last Sunday we couldn't make it to the meeting, so the elders brought the Sacrament to our room in the ICU.  This Sunday, we were looking forward to going to the meeting.  As I wheeled Isaac into Sacrament meeting and sat down next to him, I was overcome with humility.  We were surrounded by people all dealing with incredibly difficult situation.  But we were surrounded by people who also knew the source of peace amid trial.  The power of the Holy Ghost was undeniable throughout the meeting. 

 As soon as we got back from church, the surgical team called and said the chest tube could come out.  Hooray!  They said they would need to monitor him for 24-48 hours and do additional xrays to make sure everything went well, and then we could go home.  This meant we would be home in time for Christmas.  I was elated!

 The Primary came and taught Isaac's Primary lesson soon after his chest tube was removed.  Then, we had a whole host of visitors.  Our family from Green River and California came to cheer Isaac up.  We were talking and laughing when the nurse came in with the best news of my entire life. 

 She said that the Surgical Team, the Infectious Disease Team, and the Pediatric Team all consulted about Isaac's case and determined that they would perform another xray at 4:00.  If things had not worsened with the removal of the chest tube, they said Isaac could be dismissed THAT DAY!  We walked down to the end of the hall to celebrate.  It was the first time Isaac was not attached to any machines and he was thrilled.  I dialed Jeff and handed the phone to Isaac.  "It's daddy," I said.  "Tell him that you get to come home today."  This is what I heard, "Hi dad!"  "I'm not hooked to anything!" and then he giggled.  So did I.

 The nurse came in and removed Isaac's central catheter (which initially they told me we would have to go home with...hallelujah that it came out at the hospital) and then we packed up our room and prepared to leave.  Neither of us could stop smiling.

 We had quite the load.  It seemed so strange that our turn to leave had come so suddenly.  I had watched other families come and go, and I couldn't quite wrap my head around the fact that it was us this time.

 Our fabulous nurse, Rosa, helped us out.  Isaac and I both hugged her goodbye.

 Isaac and I met our family at In-N-Out Burger, one of Isaac's favorites.  As he watched out the window for them to arrive, I couldn't take my eyes off of him, and I just smiled to think of all of the many miracles that we had been witness too.  We were on our way home!

 Ever since he started talking again, Isaac has not stopped talking about Titus.  He missed his little brother so much, and could not wait to see him again.

I came home to this (haha) and a million other boxes that are waiting to be unpacked...

and to this, and a million other things that made us smile.  I couldn't believe how much work had been done on our house to make it so we could move in.  I couldn't believe all of our stuff had been packed up and moved for us!  The Christmas tree was the most beautiful we have ever had (by far) and made our homecoming so much sweeter.

 Isaac just wanted to be with his siblings.

 In all honesty, the new house didn't quite feel like coming home to either of us.  Two weeks is a long time to be gone.  Adjusting to our new home will take us a little while, because it feels like we didn't have closure leaving our old house.  But if the last two weeks are any indication of how resilient Isaac is, I have nothing to worry about.

 

 Seeing all of my kids playing around the table (our dining table is in the middle of a refinishing project) this morning was more than I could have hoped for even 24 hours earlier.  I believe in miracles.  I believe in the power of prayer.  Isaac is home for Christmas.