Home... FOREVER!

It was actually nice to be at Loyola for a while.  We were so excited to see the doctors who saved Emerson and to see the nurses who took such amazing care of her.  We were happy to walk her down to the PICU each day to say hi, to introduce Emerson to some of the most important people to ever enter her life and ours.  I am so glad they could see this happy girl whose life they saved.

Still, though, we were very excited to hear that we would be discharged today.  Emmy's surgery and recover went really well!

So the plan was to post this video or picture of Emerson walking into our home after her FINAL stay at the hospital... but it didn't work out.  Firstly, she wouldn't walk in the door!  She was so excited to be outside that she kept dragging Brian up and down the side walk in front of our house.  THEN, we finally got her in the house and she ran off before I could even get the camera ready.  We DID get some good pictures celebrating with the family tonight, but we will have to post them later we can't find the cords needed to hook the camera up to the computer.  I know, what kind of blog is this?  So unprofessional.  I am sorry we are lame.

I'll just do my best to describe what it has been like for you.  There is a LOT of smiling.  Brian and I are always smiling and hugging and kissing Emmy and when we are not scooping her up and loving her, she is running around shaking her head and laughing to be silly, or walking around smiling- seriously, the kid will not stop smiling- and saying, "Up, up up."  Sometimes she walks with head tilted and a smirk as she checks out something in her playpen or in a toy bin or on her push toy.

As if it weren't a happy occasion in itself, the family came over to help celebrate... well, those who could make it came.  Emmy's Uncle Bob made a fantastic salad and brought Giordano's deep dish pizza to celebrate.  Emmy's Aunt "Neen" bought balloons- including a butterfly balloon- and champagne, and after dinner everyone toasted to Emmy and to her good health.

We feel so lucky right now to have such a happy, healthy girl.  We are almost there.  Being able to say we are home for good is a HUGE step towards having our life back with Emmy.  She also continues to make progress, even while healing from a major surgery.  Her attention span is getting MUCH better.  She LOVES, now, to sit and read books with us and turns the pages for us.  Her favorites right now are any of Sandra Boynton's "Pookie" books, "I Love You Through and Through," "Goodnight Moon," "Are you My Mother," and "Barnyard Dance."  She does not interact with us while reading yet like she used to, but the fact that she is clearly following along, that she WANTS to be read to, and that she WANTS to turn the page is very exciting.  I am hoping that the interaction will come soon enough.

Emmy's gross motor skills also returned after surgery pretty fast.  I thought she would be in pain, that she would be too tired, and that she would not want to walk; boy, was I wrong!  This kid wanted to get up and walk the day after her surgery.  She was on pain medication for the first four days, and then she was done with it.  Emmy just says no to drugs.  I am amazed.  Seriously, if I had major stomach surgery and I was offered Tylenol with codine, I would take it... but not my girl.  She is even taking steps on her own... although, she is pretty wobbly.  She is back to eating like a champ, too.  She likes her cereal bar and her puffs and her purees and her formula.  She is right back to where she was before the surgery... even better though because now she does not have that bag!!!

Although we are home, we will still be in outpatient rehab three days a week.  Emmy still has a good deal of rehab to get her back to where she was.  I can't wait to hear her make her animal noises again.  I can't wait until she finishes our sentences of her books again.   She has come such a long way and recovered so much of that funny, happy personality we love so much, but we are not done yet.  Our plan is to continue updates to the blog until she can do what she used to do, or at least until she no longer needs any sort of therapy.  We hope you keep following and we promise more videos so that you can SEE her progress.

We don't think she would have made it were it not for all of the support and love and thoughts and prayers.  We are so grateful right now for everyone who helped us get to this point.  We are so happy to be home.