Home Again!!

I got to come back home last night!!! I am so grateful for my wonderful bed with soft sheets and squishy pillow. I didn't sleep a ton, but at least it was in my own bed. I am also incredibly grateful for a wonderfully hot shower which has now been cut in half because I don't have hair to wash. :) And the food at home is SO much better than the hospital food - even if I have to fix it myself.

So here is how the first night home went: Mom and I got home around 3 and I went straight upstairs to sleep in my bed. Dad came home from work to help with getting prescriptions and other home-care stuff. Mom got my med schedule all written out for the night before she had to leave to go pick up Rachel from band camp. I came home with a PICC line - a semipermanent IV - which required some equipment from home health. When that was delivered, Dad figured out how to flush my line and run this antibiotic that the doctors wanted me to finish with the PICC at home. The drug - levaquin - is the weirdest thing. It comes in this ball that automatically infuses without a pump or beeping or anything. Here's a pic of what it looks like:

Dad and I watched George of the Jungle while that infused and I took all my meds. Rachel and Mom got home late so we all went to bed kind of late, but we enjoyed our night together. I forgot how much I missed my family members - Rachel just has that positive energy that keeps us all laughing! It's kind of weird only having the four of us home - Megan and Nathan are with Jen in Nauvoo - but it's been fun spending time with Rachel.

Today has been eventful because we got my wig!! YAY! The morning began with the home health nurse, Joanna, coming by to draw blood off my PICC (yuck) and then a nice hot shower! Rachel slept in, so I read for most of the morning while Mom went to the temple and Dad ran some errands. Mom has been amazing at figuring out my med schedule and getting everything done on time. My meds have overrun the kitchen table - tomorrow we will be finding a new home for them.

Now for the wig. My friend who lives down the street has a disease called alopecia which makes it so her body doesn't grow hair normally. Her mom runs a salon where she specializes in doing wigs and hair pieces for other people with alopecia, or people like me who lose their hair with chemo. She was able to get me this really nice wig and we went to pick it up today. She gave us a bunch of stuff and showed us all how to take care of it. Dad and Rachel tagged along, so at least four of us know how to take care of the wig. It'll be fun to wear it to church tomorrow! Here are pix:

It's pretty fun to be able to put my hair on the styrofoam head :)

The bandage on my arm is covering the PICC line - there isn't anything wrong with my arm.

That's all I have energy to write about tonight. Thank you for your prayers and thoughts and cards! I know I'm home and doing so well because of your faith and prayers.