Home

We are home, and happy to be here. Yesterday morning was pretty uneventful. We packed up and waited for discharge. One of the PT's came by just to check on us (not the one who made him cry) and as soon as Nate saw her he pretended to go to sleep! He laid down, closed his eyes, and started breathing hard. What a stinker. He was also getting a little cranky with me and Granna. We joked that even when he is trying to think of the meanest things he can say, he's so innocent that he can't come up with much. Besides "You're not the best!", he has "You're not my best friend anymore!" and that's about it. Every now and then he pulls out, "You're a LIAR!" but he doesn't even know what that means. :)

We were discharged around noon, and since Nate was feeling pretty good, we put him in his car seat to see how he would do. By the time I got his medicine from the pharmacy, he was asleep. We were about 30 minutes from home before he woke up, and he had a bad headache. We stopped at a gas station, and I laid him down in the back seat. Then he started feeling sick, and I was in a panic to safely get him out of that van before he threw up! I sat on a curb with him laying back in my arms (because his head hurt when he was upright), and the fresh air made him feel better. It took all three of us to get him back in the back row of the van, and I got him strapped into the harness. Here's what it looks like:

He thought it was so fun that he got to lay down in the car. :) He was being silly saying, "Whoa! We're spinning!" every time my mom turned the van. All he could see was the sky. But this did the trick, and I was glad we had it.

Blake, Georgia, and Memaw (and Maggie) were very excited to see Nate, and he was just as happy! Despite me carrying Georgia around and giving lots of hugs, after awhile she started getting jealous of all of the special attention for Nate! Everyone is asking him how he feels and making sure he's comfortable, and getting things for him. She wants to get whatever Nate does.

He did throw up after he got home, but overall he was feeling much better. Before long he was sliding off the couch and trying to crawl (saying "ouch ouch ouch") over to his toys. A little later we saw him crawl back up on the couch. He tried to walk once, but was afraid of standing all the way upright. Nate and Granna had a sleepover on the couch last night, and he slept great. He has been in very little pain, besides the occasional headache and a little soreness between doses of medicine.

Today he has been moving around even more, and we've had to start holding him back already. "Nate, you can't climb on the back of the couch!" He has stood up holding onto things a couple times, and he's crawling and scooting all over the living room. Tonight he told Blake, "I wish I could walk," and Blake said, "Well, of course you can walk!" So he and I both took a hand, and Nate walked some through the house. Yay! He did great. (And then Georgia had to take Blake's hand and walk through the house too.) It's hard to tell right now, but I thought his foot looked straighter when he walked. We also think we can see some more movement in his foot, although it's slight. We will try to start PT this week, or as soon as we can get in somewhere.

He can't take a bath, because they don't want the derma-bond soaking in water, but they said he could take a shower. Nate doesn't like showers, so I decided to take a little beach chair up to the bath tub and just put a little water in the bottom. I could pour water over him, and it worked just fine. Looks like the beach chair will be a fixture in the bathroom for a few weeks.

Nate isn't allowed to be in crowds for 6 weeks, so that means no church or Bible Study (well, that's more to keep him from running than the crowd). My mom and I went to church this morning, with Pam and Cade, and the kids stayed home with Blake. One of my Bible study friends brought dinner over. We'll have to figure something out, whether that means getting a sitter, taking turns going, or probably a combination of the two. It's going to be an adjustment for all of us, not being able to take Nate anywhere. As you can tell from my blog, we don't sit around the house very much! Every weekend is packed full of stuff. Nate and I are not used to staying home. But it's for a short time, and it's good for us anyway. :)

I'm very glad this week is over, and I'm so thankful that Nate did well with the surgery and is healing well. There were a few traumatic moments for all of us, but as I always say, you can't feel too sorry for yourself when you spend time at a children's hospital. Pam talked to the grandma of a 17 year old boy who is now living at Vanderbilt until they find a heart for him. If they don't find a transplant, they don't know how long he will make it, but he's not going home. I will take Spina Bifida, thank you very much.

And kids are so resilient and look at situations different from the way we grown ups do. We are worried about permanent nerve damage, anesthesia, spinal fluid, and pain. You know what he's worried about? None of that. I asked him the worst part about being in the hospital, and he said--and I quote--"the yucky medicine." Really? I asked him what the best part was, and he said it was getting new train movies when he got home.

So BIG sigh of relief. He has more recovery to go, and we pray that his back heals well from the inside out and we don't have any problems with that. We are also praying for those nerves and his feet. Thank you, friends and family and strangers, for your prayers and encouraging words throughout all of this. Not only did Nate come through this safely, but we felt peace and comfort through it all.