"Remember that spring will come, and roses will bloom again."

On Friday, I was down at the pharmacy picking up MercyMay's medications and on the way back to the room I met the transplant surgeons......Dr. Wachs (pronounced 'wax') and Dr. Bak (pronounced 'baahk')...I joked with them and told them they sounded like a website or somethng ~ "Wachs'n'Bak.com" ~ .... they chuckled and were very personable.  (I was told that Dr. Wachs likes to listen to jam bands during transplant surgery ... anybody want to compile a CD??)
Grandma and Grandpa got us all set up at the Ronald McDonald House (RMH) just down the road from the hospital so when we were discharged on Saturday afternoon, it was an easy transition.  We have decided as a family that it will be less stressful if Mercy and I stay in Denver until we get "the call". It is hard to be away from home, of course, because we do not know how long "the call" will take....could be weeks, could be months. The luxury of planning the future and having it work as planned is something I miss.

The RMH is absolutely wonderful and has thoroughly exceeded my expectations (good thing since we will be calling this 'home' for a while).  I am extremely impressed, not only with the building itself (only 4 years old, so almost brand new), but with what the organization puts together to make it all work.  It is ran strictly by volunteers. Nobody gets paid to do what they do here and the people so far have been fantastic. Every night (since we have been here) there are different groups cooking meals for the entire house. Usually dinner, breakfast and dinner on the weekends. Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, independent insurance groups, church groups, The Children's Hospital.....the list goes on. (Too bad there wasn't a RMH in Bozeman, THE AOC could lend a great hand!) On the first night of our arrival, dinner was cooked by local high school students who, instead of going to dinner for prom that night, came to the RMH and cooked dinner for the house residents then sat down and had the leftovers for their prom dinner. After dinner they got dressed up and all went to the dance. Later that evening, the news station was covering their good deed and we saw ourselves on TV!  So good to see young people giving back to their community. 
Sunday morning, we headed down to breakfast with the Boy Scouts.  I had a young Boy Scout named Wade ask me if he could help me dish up my plate (I was holding Mercy), such a polite young man. After breakfast we gave hugs and said good bye to Grandma and Grandpa...thank you for all you did for us :)  Sunday evening, the Girl Scouts (Castle Rock, CO Troop #571 - shout out) were enamored by MercyMay. They just stared. I wasn't sure if it was her feeding tube, the picc line or the fact that she's so stinkin' cute ;)  Regardless, they all fell in love with her when I introduced them.  The girls were earning their Silver Medal Awards and their theme was COMFORT...how ironic. They prepared spaghetti, mac'n'cheese and salad for everyone....comfort food.  They also handmade blankets for the house residents "because we know that you are in need of things like that here"...so precious and thoughtful.  They especially picked out a "flower" theme for MercyMay because "she reminds us of a beautiful flower"..... so pure and innocent, love it!! 
The rules of the house are simple, clean up after yourself. There is not a maid service to clean our living space which is set up just like a hotel room. No food or drink allowed in the rooms. The kitchen and dining room area are occasionally cleaned by volunteer groups. There is a huge family room with a big screen tv, computer rooms and tv rooms on each floor (there are 3), laundry room with all ammentities provided through donations and several cozy spots to just hang out and relax. The list of awesomeness goes on and on.  I support the RMH 100%, if you have a chance to help them in your area, please do.

Yesterday we ventured out for our first appointment with Dr. Narkewicz as an outpatient. Felt good! He said she looked great, and so far from what I've seen, she has been doing a little better each day. In fact, I woke up to a plethera (lol) of bright, yellow poo ...hadn't seen that in over 3 weeks.  Dr. Narkewicz even seemed a little surprised. Her nighttime feedings will be incresased slowly over time to help supply her with the maximum nutrition she needs and that her body can handle. Little nugget decided to pull her NG (feeding) tube out at 5am this morning, so I have a huge task ahead of me tonite....replacing it.

<3



Wade :)