DAY 10 - SUNDAY, APRIL 20, 2008

AARON - WHOOOHOOO!!! Today we finally were able to take Aaron home. We are so overjoyed with this day. Aaron passed all of his tests and received his final check-up from the Doctor. After a brief consultation with one of the nurses we left the hospital about 5pm this evening. When we strapped him into the carrier he seemed to disappear into it. It just about swallowed him up he is so small. He wasn't too sure what to make of the carrier, but he didn't make much of a fuss even though he was very hungry. We took him home at the same time as one of his feedings. He was packed into the carrier like a sardine and sat content. As we carried him down the elevator and out of the hospital he seemed to enjoy watching everything going by. He seemed to also take the car ride home with equal curiosity. We think he was SO ready to come home with us. We think he was sick of the hospital food too. We look back on the past week and are amazed at how much he has progressed. Each day has brought new experiences and new firsts with him. We love him so very much and look forward to taking care of him from now on. However we know we are not going to get much sleep tonight by either waking every three hours to feed him or just worrying whether he is OK or not. (PICTURE: Are we there yet.)

ANDREW - At the same time that our joy was overwhelming to bring Aaron home today, we also felt sadness that his brother was not able to join him. He still has a lot of hurdles to over come, although he continues to look better and better each day. The Doctors are very impressed with how well he is doing without the ventilator. Either tomorrow or Tuesday they are planning to give Andrew a barium swallow test which under x-ray can detect whether his esophagus has healed completely. They will have Andrew drink a small amount of barium and the x-ray can see if everything passes to his stomach. If any wisps of the barium are detected outside of his esophagus he still has some more healing to do and the chest tube will remain in place. Dr. Close has also requested that a small catheter be inserted into his left kidney to drain it. Much of his swelling has decreased, so Dr. Close feels that his swollen kidneys may be affecting his breathing a bit and draining it will help him breath easier. His abdomen is still very distended and he can't use his abdominal muscles very well to breath. He has to rely on the muscles in his upper chest to do most of the breathing for him. The procedure requires the insertion of a needle into his kidney through his back. A small tube will then be placed into his kidney to allow fluid to drain. The tube will stay in his kidney to help it drain for a while. So we are very hopeful everything will go very well with the two procedures.  Today we spent about an hour by Andrew's bedside holding his head, hands, and feet and talking to him.  He was a bit fussy when we first went to see him but he soon calmed down once we were there.  We are SO anxious to hold him for the first time.  That will be a great day!