One year ago today...

I helped my husband into his truck and drove him home after 43 days in the hospital.

He was pushed out of the hospital in a wheel chair straight into my care complete with a pik line for IVs, 3 drainage tubes draining infection from his body, a wound vac attached to his stomach, and a walker as he was barely walking. Thank heavens they had weaned him off the oxygen! Was I crazy or what? Crazy enough to want my family back together under one roof! But, boy was I underprepared for how much care he would need. But, I would do it again in a heartbeat because, well, heck I love him. :)

The nurse and I had to practically lift him into the truck when we left the hospital, we got home and he barely made it with the walker to collapse into the recliner. Thankgoodness my OT sister was here to help me help him move and the visiting nurse was there shortly to teach me IV medicine giving.

His recliner was so low to the ground he couldn't get out of it on his own until our friend Brent made a stand to raise it for him. I slept on the couch next to his recliner for over a month in case he needed me in the night, I mixed IV meds and gave IV's and helped with wound vac stuff.

Did I mention the biggest hugest wound to ever be was on his stomach, his whole stomach? Ask him to show you some time. Did I tell you that when my mom the nurse and my sister Kelly the OT use to talk about work over the dinner table it took everything in me not to completely upload my dinner on the table? But, I braved my fear of blood and innerds just for him, I actually know what fat looks like inside your body as I watched them change and clean his wound every few days and learned to stuff it so it would heal from the inside out.

OK enough of the grossness.

We kept our old CT fireplace gate around his recliner so the dogs and Justin didn't do a running jump on his insision, the boys were quiet, most of the time, so he could keep resting AND HE GOT A little better, A little stronger, every day.

We still have some small residual health issues left, cause heck when they cut 2 feet of intestines and remove half your colon we can't be far from a bathroom.

But...Wow, I can't believe it's been a year already!!! And what a year, filled with so many trials but so much goodness...