Too Good To Be True???

There may finally be a real answer to the question "When is Jackman going to get to come home?".

First of all, I know it's been a while since we've updated. Me and Lisa have had a lot going on since the new year began. I hate to admit it, but both of us are pretty stressed. I guess the past six months had to exact some sort of toll on us. I don't know if that the case or not, but we've just had a tough few weeks. It feels like time is running off and leaving us, and everything we own is breaking along the way. You probably know the feeling, and if you don't, you must be in prison.

All that aside, Jackman has made steady gains ever since he woke up and came of the ventilator. He's been getting stronger. He's rolling side to side and playing with his feet... he is amazed by them, and obviously very proud that they belong to him. He's been grinning a lot. He smiles now when we come in. It's neat that he recognizes us when we come around the corner. Just a couple days ago he started baby-talking (except for when he clearly said the word "hey", which for some reason doesn't count as his first word). Since he woke up he's really been doing some catching up on that month he spent sedated.

Last week he had what we hope was his last surgery ever (aside for fixing his stomach back after the g-tube comes out). The surgery he had performed was a fundoplication. It was a success, and they were able to do it without making a large incision. He was happy and playing the next day. The surgery was mainly to keep him from throwing up so easily. After a couple of days, they got to try working with the bottle again.

Now there's something that's going to take some work. As they expected, he just ain't real fond of the sensation of milk in his mouth. It makes about as much sense to him to eat that way as it would for me or you to eat through our ears. It's going to take some time and patience to get that train on the right track again, but he's been doing a little better each time.

Well, things were going so great, they decided it was time for him to move out. He's completely weaned of the methadone, and he is completely off the liquids, so there's nothing holding him back. They went ahead and made plans for us to "room in" this Sunday. All the parents do that. The parent and the baby move into a private room together, get a little training, and basically just to make sure everybody is "cool". Really, me and Lisa would have a panic attack if we just walked out of NICU with him. People need that gentle nudge back into the real world.

So the plan is to room in Sunday, stay two or three days, and then finally bring the boy home. Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it?

There's a new wrinkle. Just today they went on "precautions" with Jackman. That means no one goes in his room without first putting on rubber gloves and a gown. I'll spare the details, but they are concerned he may be sick, or have some kind of bug. We should know tomorrow because they are running some tests. The thing is, if he does have anything that causes him to be put on antibiotics, we probably won't be rooming in as soon as we thought. That translates into not bringing him home as soon as we thought. He certainly knows how to keep things interesting.

That was a tough pill to swallow tonight, especially for Lisa. We are really hoping he's fine, and that everything is a go for this weekend. Now I won't lie; I'm a little scared and a little nervous, but I've felt that way before about other things and it all worked out. I'm pretty confident we can handle the boy... the house may fall down around us, but we won't neglect the boy. Feeding him will be the easiest thing; it's about like gassing up the car (put in hose - fill tank). Now Lisa... she wants him home too bad to even have thought about being nervous (plus she knows she's got a baby expert in the house with her).

Anyway, after 23 weeks, close to six months, there is finally an end in sight. The closer we get to that end, the more we realize it is just another beginning. That makes it exciting and sad at the same time. It's not that this part of our life with him is bad, we just want more of it with him. We're really hoping to have him home soon. Stay tuned...