Together at Last

Averi woke up with an ANC of 264 and negative blood cultures, and that meant we got to go HOME!!!  I can't believe the day has finally arrived.  Every day for almost the last month I have looked at this sign on our door and known that one day it would actually be meaningful.

 Today was the day we got to take that sign down, pack it up, and go home hopefully never to return.

There is a special tradition on the Hem/Onc floor that patients get to ring a bell announcing their final departure.  Dan took off work so that we could all be there as a family to declare our happy news.  It was a group effort to ring the bell, but then again so was the journey.

Ringing the bell was much more emotional for me than I thought it would be.  Living at the hospital has become our life and I teared up in sorrow for the friendships we are leaving behind just as much as I did for the joy of putting this all behind us.

So many people at the hospital have touched our lives during this journey and they all came to celebrate with us as the bell sang out our victory.  To say it was joyous doesn't even come close.

After ringing the bell, Averi took a short nap while I took out our cart load for the last time.  Then the moment finally came where I picked her up in my arms and carried her off the floor and out of the hospital like it was no big deal.  As we walked through the halls, the only visible signs of our time spent there were the mask on her face and her shiny bald head.

We are SO excited about being a family again.  There are still several steps left to take before this part of our lives is truly over, but at least we are one step closer to the finish line.