Home Sweet Home!!!

We made it! I feel so happy to be home! I have loved the nice weather in California so I wondered if I would feel happy when I saw the snow, but at the first glimpse of the snowy mountains flying into Utah I wanted to cry for joy!  

It was, of course, an adventure getting home, but I decided to pack my sense of humor from the get-go and it turned out great thanks, again, to many angels! 

I checked out of the hospital with Hailey on Thursday around 4:30pm. It was so strange to get to take her with me. I made a little sign for her car seat to travel with so we could try to stay healthy on the trip :-)

By the time I had packed and cleaned and figured out how to give Hailey her new medicines (she has 10 now that we give 8 times a day between various dosing schedules) I had about 40 minutes to sleep before my 3:20am shuttle pickup. 

I started wheeling my bags and Hailey and the oxygen downstairs. I took turns alternately pushing Hailey's stroller and the oxygen and the suitcases until we got to the elevator and down to the first floor doors to wait. 

The shuttle driver helped me load everything, which was good because he arrived a bit late. The drive to the airport was pretty seamless because it was so early. The driver accidentally dropped me and the other passenger, who was also flying on Southwest, off at the wrong terminal. I rented a cart and this kind woman walked with me and pushed the cart along all the way to the ticket counter to check in. 

At the counter, the ticket agent, named Ann, offered to help me get through TSA and to the gate. The TSA people were nice enough to let me push Hailey through security in the stroller. They looked inside the pump bag and the oxygen concentrator and then used some kind of sensor on my hands to check for explosive residue.  

Then Ann walked me all the way to the gate, watched Hailey while I grabbed some breakfast and used the restroom, and arranged everything with the agent at the gate so that I could board with priority boarding.  She was an angel! 

The flight attendants--Amy, Amy, (that's why I remember--2 Amys) and Eric helped me get settled and kind of blocked off the whole row of seats since they had a couple of open ones on the flight so I would have room to have the oxygen concentrator and Hailey's car seat. We had just gotten settled when I realized Hailey needed a diaper change. I didn't know how I was going to wrangle the oxygen concentrator and the pump into the airplane restroom, but Amy told me I could change her there, helped me find the changing pad in the diaper bag, and got me a garbage bag we could tie off and then took care of that for me too. 

Hailey slept the whole way. I was nervous that she would cry because we had quite a bit of turbulence for the first half of the flight, but she didn't mind a bit and slept like an angel. 

When we got off the flight attendants and an escort and some of the other employees at the ramp helpers me put the car seat and stroller back together, buckle Hailey in, and head down to get my bags. The escort walked me all the way to the baggage claim and waited to make sure I had communicated with Ben before he left. Everyone was so wonderful!!!!

Ben got there at the perfect moment and we had to find an outlet to give Hailey her breathing treatments with her nebulizer and all her other medications. Then we headed off to Primary Children's for Hailey's cardiology follow-up. 

We got there about two hours early but decided just to hang around and catch up with each other. It was fun to get to see each other. Just as we were checking in for our appt Hailey threw up and I didn't have any burp cloths with me.  Luckily Ben caught most of it with her blanket and we did bring a couple of those. 

After her appointment we stopped for dinner and headed home. I think I slept quite a bit of the way. I was just SO tired. 

When we got home there was a huge "welcome home" on the garage door from some of the ladies in our ward and a  clear driveway and walkway thanks to others in our ward. 

I got to hug all my girls and I felt so much joy!!!  What a marvelous day!!!!