The BEST news, but . . .

Wednesday we went to meet Dr Heather DiCarlo, who is Dr G's associate and shares and office with him. She's so awesome, I've loved getting to know the whole team. Coty (Dr G's admin assistant), Heather and I all chatted awhile about our whole journey. She asked me how the cathing has been going.  I told her that it's been going just fine, and the only issue we've had lately has been the poop problem.  But that was looking better at that point and would only improve.  We looked over the numbers I've logged with the SP drain and cathing.  I was telling her that I have a flight on Friday, but was completely expecting to change and go home next week.  With ALL the issues we've had, I really didn't know what their plan was.  Lily still has the nephrostomy tube going into her kidney/ureter that I wasn't totally sure of the plan with that.  Dr G had mentioned we'd probably need to come back to Baltimore after Christmas to get it out, but I was hoping to talk to Heather about finding a doc in California to do it. She said she'd go call Dr G real quick to find out what he thinks about everything. Minutes later she came out and said "You guys are going home Friday! We are gonna pull the SP out now and get you on your way!"  Whaaaat?? I had to ask a second time to make sure I heard her right.  AHHHhhhh!  I was so happy and excited and relieved.  So was Lily!
            But, two things needed to happen.  One, we needed to pull out the SP tube right there in the office which Lily was terrified to do.  And, two, we DO need to come back first week of January! UGH!!!!!!!!  They want all the same radiology team and urology team to make sure it looks perfect before the tube comes out.  So that means we go home with that last tube in her lower back.  It's taped down and very small, but still, so annoying.  However, it's pretty important that the ureter stays open and heals around that tube, so I really just can't complain. After all the tubes and things she's had, it's small potatoes. So after Christmas I'll be turning back around and heading back to finish this all up.
            So next was the SP tube.  What a production that was. At the moment Lily was told we needed to pull the tube, she had a major meltdown.  She tried to run out the of the office and was screaming that she would not let them do it. I felt bad for Lily, and also felt so embarrassed that she was acting so crazy. I even had her OxyCotone in my purse and gave it to her in hopes to calm her down a bit. Heather and Coty were so great and we worked together as a team to convince her that it doesn't hurt. Which, it really doesn't hurt, it's just seems like it would.  All they have to do is cut one stitch and pull out the tube.  The end of the tube is a little bigger, so she does it fast so the kids feel it for the quickest second. It was kinda funny how the whole situation worked. It works best if the kids lay down while they do it cause it's the best angle. So Heather got Dr G's University of Kentucky blanket, laid it out on the the floor of his office, and we all got on the floor with her. Coty holding one hand, me holding the other, and Heather snipping and pulling. Lily closed her eyes so tight and stopped breathing, and it literally took two seconds.  She barely felt it. All that meltdown for nothing. I was sweating by the end. From that moment she was much happier to yet again be free of another tube - especially that one, it hurt and pulled her skin constantly.  And her cute little undies slide up no problem now!
             We left the office with a skip in our step, free and ready to get home! We stopped by the 10th floor to say goodbye to the nurses and ran into all the residents in the hall.  Gave them some high fives and we were out of there.  The next task was to start thinking about packing.  But that night I had promised Lily to play with some friends. Since I had rented a car for the last week here, I was happy to be able to get around by myself. So we went and visited the Sedgwicks for dinner. Lily had a great time playing with Hannah and Lucy and we had a delicious dinner.
                That night I attempted to pack some stuff, but knew I had most of the day thursday to get it done. I had sooooooo much stuff to figure out. Being here for almost 7 weeks, and having so many sweet and wonderful friends send gift packages, it made things tricky. I'll post more about our last day in the next post.  But yay for almost done!!!!!!!

Here's some pics from inside Dr Gearhart's office.  He was featured in the hospital magazine this summer so we were looking at that . .

 Here' s Coty, Lily's buddy and our lifesaver getting fast appts!  It's nice to be friends with people who can make things happen! HAHA