Release

A little after two o'clock Chris carried Joaquin out of room 3241 on 3 West and met me at the car in from of Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. Mom said something to the effect of, "Is it okay that we just walk out with him?" And to which Chris replied, "I think so."

Cathy met with up around noon to go over a few more things before discharge. We went over medicines, what time to give them, who to call if we had any questions or emergencies, our schedule for the next week. We will be coming back daily to the hospital for about 2-3 week for blood draws. This is the normal protocol for transplant patients - the blood draw needs to happen to make sure that enough anti-rejection medicine is being given. So now for us it's time for slipping into a routine. I'm not the type of person who needs a routine to feel at peace, but they are nice when you have a little one.

At the moment, Joaquin is sleeping soundly next to me on the bed with no beeping monitors, no nurses coming in and out every 15 minutes... just home with his family and feeling at peace. Mom and I went for a walk near the Ronald McDonald House in the new stroller and Joaquin seemed so happy. When we got in the car to leave the hospital his eyes were big and he was looking around at everything and pointing. We are both just slowly healing in a fast way. To just go outside and on a walk is one of the nicest things to do after being couped up in hospital. And I was right about thinking that this hospital stay wouldn't be as bad as the first. It's hard to believe that it's been less than two weeks since we had surgery. I'm feeling much better and Joaquin seems to be coming back into the boy that we knew.

More and more lately I've been getting excited about what's to come - know that we're through the transplant we can focus on Joaquin growing and not worrying about whether or not his kidneys work and if he's growing adequately. We didn't know and now we do. Our life isn't waiting to move forward, we are now moving forward. We are released from the uncertainty the future would bring. We are released from the dialysis machine. We are free to look forward and know that Joaquin will grow and not be shortchanged by his kidneys.

Thank you for all your prayers. Please keep them coming and know that they work. That although we've been through so much we really have been guided through without any major bumps in the road and we pray that it will continue to be this way.