FRIDAY - Welcome Home Sean!

Again - a roller coaster day. Lots of activity, then waiting then the adjustment of being home. Kat's husband Aaron, waiting all morning for the wheelchair to be delivered. Finally came at noon. Tom & I ran out first thing to find, purchase and arrange delivery of a single bed. Then to the store to stock up on sheets and basic supplies for Sean, and groceries. Tom went to DOL to get the handicap sticker. Kat arrived as planned at the hospital at 4:45 PM to pick him up, only to be told that they wouldn't send him home with any drugs, we'd have to go have the Rx filled at his insurance's pharmacy (Group Health)which by this time was closed. This is after we were assured he would be discharged with enough meds to get him through 24 hours. By this time Sean is extremely uncomfortable and in lots of pain and I'm more than a little annoyed considering I have been asking for 11 days what the procedure was for discharge, and this was NOT the way they told us it would go! Tom and I both talked to the charge nurse and finally she consented to arrange to have him sent home with enough drugs to get him through the night. However since the hospital did not have his drugs ready as they had told us they would, Kat had to wait several hours to get them. Of course the ride home wasn't any picnic. They got home about 7:30PM. We had dinner waiting, but it wasn't much of a celebration. Sean has to adjust to everything all over again. He's exhausted from using the walker. Short trips like going into the bathroom wipes him out. He's not that comfortable in the wheelchair. Adjusting to a regular bed, instead of the hospital bed where he could adjust everything has been a challenge. I think it took a couple of hours last night to get him semi-comfortable (arranging and re-arranging pillows) under, to the side, in between his legs. I think his pain is far more than I would expect to see, but it was a BIG day. Tom & I went home as 12:30 AM exhausted. I'm hoping he got some sleep.