Team Thad: Friday, June 7, 2013

A very crazy day! Lots of visitors with my parents, the kids, Wades's parents, and a several of his aunts and uncles  (his grandpa and wife came on Thursday) and still recovering from my surgery...I was physically and emotionally exhausted! So I apologize to all who came to visit...I know I didn't socialize but it was all I could do to stay awake, hug my kids, and feed my baby! My aunt and uncle came by, too, to check in with my parents and offer snacks, a place to stay, etc.  hooray for wonderful family on both sides!

Friday's rounds brought lots of good news. Our doctor team told us we could go home saturday morning! Yeah! That is good news in a NICU.  So we had a lot to do. Thad had to be able to sit in his car seat for 2 hours (the amount of time it would take us to drive home) without desatting. They would do this overnight while he (and we) slept. We also would have to do lots of learning...a CPR class, watch a video on infant crying required by all parents leaving hospitals across the country to prevent shaken babies, bathe him, etc. 

Rounds ended at 12:30. CPR class started at 1. We needed to eat lunch and I needed to pump. No rest for us!  The afternoon was a blur. Visitors, seeing the kids, feeding the baby. I was getting more exhausted by the minute!  I started to rely on Wade a lot more to wheel me in the wheelchair, as I was hurting a lot and swelling. We would have to do a lot of the other tasks on Saturday before we were to leave.

We stayed in the Ronald McDonald House Family Room on the second floor of the hospital (the NICU is on 3rd).  What an amazing service Ronald McDonald House Charities is! This will be on our list for charitable giving now! The room was small and there were 2 shared bathrooms for 7 guest rooms. The first night (Wed) they put us in an empty PCU room (parent care unit--where we would stay with Thad in our room the night before we discharged). Thurs night we were in a Ronnie's room with a twin bed and foam mat on the floor for Wade. He was a trooper! I hated that he had to sleep on the floor, but I had to have him with me as I couldn't get out of bed myself yet and needed wheeled down the long hallway and up the elevator at 11 p.m., 5 and 8 a.m. To go feed Thad. The nurse fed him a bottle at 2 so I could get a few more hours of sleep.  Friday night and Saturday night we had a double bed, which was nice! The rooms are also open from 1-5 p.m. for parents to rest. 

Volunteers also fix and serve meals most days throughout the week. On days they don't serve, you are welcome to visit the kitchen and warm up leftovers or fix something from the pantry...Mac n cheese, ramen, soup, etc. there were also snack foods and fresh fruits and veggies available as well as a very nice kitchen, couches and TV. A great place for parents to get away from the bedside for a little bit! I only wish we lived closer...this is something I would like to do as a family someday, fixing and serving for other parents who are tired and stressed and away from home.

We could have stayed in a room at the actual Ronald McDonald House across the street, but with nursing, it was more convenient to stay in the hospital. Also, since the kids were staying with my parents at my aunt and uncles, we wanted to leave that space for another family who needed it.