Home Sweet Home

Yesterday was a whirlwind of activity. But it all ended with us at Seattle Children's, back on home turf. It was so nice to step off the plane in Seattle. Even when we touched down in rainy, cool Great Falls, MT, we both remarked that the amount of stress we have been carrying was already noticeably less.We are far from no stress, but you know what I mean!

Seth stayed with Alistair overnight and I came in to relieve him in the morning so he could get back to the house and get showered and packed to leave. Alistair slept pretty well over the night. This sleeping through the night stuff, finally, is so great for him! The morning was a whirlwind of doctors coming in to do one last exam and do their sign off for transport. They would come in and say, "So today might be the day?" Or "So there is a chance you might be leaving today?" And I would reply, "no, we are leaving today, the airplane is en route!" You would have been hard pressed to convince us we needed to stay longer!

Once the acrivity settled down, we took Alistair outside to see Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt BJ and Riley! Grandma and Grandpa were getting ready to hit the road and wanted to say goodbye for a few days and we thought Alistair would enjoy seeing Riley...I think he did. He was kind of sleepy, but he kept his hands on Riley's head and ears and was petting him. I think Riley liked it too!

After they left, we went back to his room to hang until it was time to go. We turned on some cartoons, Spongebob, and got comfy. At some point during the show, Spongebob and Patrick were making faces at each other. I am not totally sure what happened,but Alistair smiled a fairly large grin and actually chuckled/laughed. Music to our ears!!

The ultimate rebellion!

The transport team finally arrived. It took a bit to get everything organized and t's crossed, i's dotted. But then we were off. Alistair told us he was nervous, which is understandable. It took a bit to get him loaded on the plane and then we were off. He was a little worked up and agitated at first. Then we got him repositioned on his left side, which seems to be a favored and comfortable side for him. He watched out the window for a little bit and then fell asleep and slept the remainder of the flight. When we got to Boeing Field, they had red hearts hanging on the fence and a Welcome Home banner and balloons on the door. We had quite the welcoming and it was wonderful! 

When we got to Children's, my parents were waiting for us. It was great to see them and once we got Alistair situated, Seth and I were able to leave for about 45 minutes to go home, shower, grab some other clothes and food and come back. It was nice to be at home, but it was too short!! Thanks to everyone who helped restock our house with food. It was great to have stuff there to eat and not have to eat out!

We both stayed at the hospital last night. They have a couch bed that folds out into a full bed and wasn't too bad. We both slept a little, but certainly not enough! Alistair slept pretty well. We weren't sure if he would after sleeping all day. But I think intake was fairly stressful for him last night, he got pretty worked up at one point and it took some time to calm him down. This morning he is much better, relaxed and asking for drinks. I asked him this morning how he felt and he replied, "like a new man!" 

Today is going to be a pretty busy day with more intake and assessments. He already has a list of tasks for the morning! I know people are anxious to see us and him, and we are anxious to see everyone, but we would like to kind of ease into visitors. Once we get an idea of what is going on, it will be easier to figure out when good visiting times will be. I will for sure keep you posted. 

Once again we are truly humbled and grateful for our village. I was telling the flight nurses about all the love, support and donations and I can't talk about it without tearing up. I don't think we will ever be able to truly thank everyone for everything. Just know we are forever grateful and will be there for you when you need it!