Home Stretch

This week we were busy being bored and doing nothing - and that is not a complaint. Joaquin has had a week full of no doctors, no nurses, no needles and no hospitals. He's been working on his new skills such as walking (with a little balancing help) and crawling and climbing. And he's also adding more words to his ever-expanding vocabulary.

While we were in Reno last weekend eating dinner with our friends who had a staircase, Joaquin discovered the the excitement of climbing stairs. We are on the third floor of the RHM and we usually take the stairs to our room not only because it's exercise, but also because the elevator is the slowest moving thing ever! Now Joaquin has to climb the last flight of stairs or else. He has also found how he can get himself off the bed without our help. He flips over to his belly and scoots to the end of the bed and then gently eases back until his feet hit the floor.

He also points out all of the artwork on the way up the stairs and likes to say, "up" as we go. The other day I pointed to the sky and said, "plane" as one passed overhead and a little while later he pointed up and said something that I know meant "plane" but might not be discernible to the untrained ear and only to those who are with him on a daily basis. Last night he was snacking on some penne noodles and tomato sauce during dinner and, as such is the case with most babies, he managed to get spaghetti sauce in his air, up his nose, and in his ears. It was plain to see that it was time for a bath.

We were never able to give Joaquin a true bonafide bath before because he had the dialysis catheter in his belly that could not be submerged. Usually we would just fill up the tub a little bit or bring him in the shower with one of us. After transplant he had his PICC line in and that could not get wet or it might get infected. Once the PICC line was removed we were able to really give him a good bath and let him play on the bathtub. We bought him some little sea creatures that he likes to toss out of the bath and onto the floor. He likes being on his belly splashing the water. He'll be playing contently in the bath and every once in a while say, "bath." Even when his little hands are wrinkly and cold, and his little jaw is chattering, he doesn't want to get out. But all good things must come to an end sometimes and that includes bath time.

Our next clinic is Monday, along with another xenopax infusion. I'm anxious about the infusion because now that he doesn't have his PICC line they have to put an IV in somewhere. I'm thinking about just having them put it in his head again because that seemed to be the easiest and the less traumatic for him. The clinic appointment will be a breeze because we are not seeing any physicians, just the nurse so that he can get weighed and have his blood pressure taken. Simple.

I'm hoping that we are in the home stretch and will receive the go-ahead to return to Reno. At this point everything is going very smoothly and as long as Joaquin continues to do so well, we are on our way.














p.s. ~ Anyone who is interested in finding out how to donate to Joaquin's fund can check out www.cota.org and go to Joaquin's patient campaign site. Thanks to all who have helped out!