We're Home...And Off Again

My phone rang constantly today, so I decided that it was time for a post to let everyone know that all is well. We were able to come home on Monday. We were discharged at about noon. So far, Rylee has been doing pretty good. I think she's just so glad to be home! No fevers and nothing major has happened since being home. She's gotten some thrush and a diaper rash, probably side effects of the antibiotic, but we got a prescription for it, so what's another medicine at this point.

We've had a pretty intense week with medication and getting trained by a home health nurse on how to administer the antibiotic through her central line. She has to have the antibiotic every 8 hours, so at 7 a.m, 3 p.m. and 11 p.m. we have to hook her all up and let it run through. It takes about 20 minutes each time. And we have to make sure everything stays clean & sterile. Then she has two to three oral medications, twice a day that we have to give her. On Monday night, I was a little overwhelmed, but it's getting easier with time. Being nurse is totally different than just being mom. I just decided to get a notebook, write the day of the week on it and write down exactly what I need to do that day to take care of her needs. The next day is a new day & I'll worry about it when it comes. Some of the meds she only takes Mon & Tues and so forth, so it's hard to keep everything straight. Hard to believe that before long, this will just feel normal to me.

We came home to a clean welcome. Some of my sisters, mom and a good friend came in and cleaned and disinfected our whole house for us. We also had a freezer full of quick prepare meals that Justin's sister & sis-in-law prepared for us, the ward has provided dinners the last few nights and Jace's aunts/cousins decorated his room & left him all sorts of fun gifts, which really made him feel special.

I cannot explain the out-pouring of love that we have received. We have so many people praying for us, attending the temple, serving and doing any and all that they can to help us. So many meals, offers, gifts, well-wishes and words of encouragement have come our way. It just makes us grateful for all the blessings in our lives.

Something that Elder Quentin Cook said in conference keeps sticking out to me. He said, "Regardless of our trials, with the abundance we have today, we would be ungrateful if we did not appreciate our blessings." I just keep thinking of the family & friends we've been blessed with, modern medicine, skilled Dr.'s, our great marriage, faith promoting experiences, our testimonies & knowledge of the gospel, having our beautiful kids and definitely insurance!(One ambulance ride was nearly $900 and we had 2. Wonder how much Life-Flight is?) We will get through this!

We are off to Salt Lake first thing in the morning. Rylee will receive another chemo treatment, they'll check her blood cell levels and she'll be put under for another bone marrow test and spinal puncture. We are hoping and praying that her treatment has been effective so far and hope that the Leukemia cells will have decreased and that they won't have to intensify her treatment. Also hope that her ANC level have gone up, so we don't have to be on such high alert with her immune system. She is wanting to go outside and take a walk so bad. Nothing is worse than being/feeling couped up! She's her mama's daughter in that way. Justin took the kids on a little drive tonight to get them out and about.

Tomorrow will give us a good idea of where we are and where we need to go. Thanks again to everyone who is pulling for our little family!