Home Sweet Home!!!!!

Well my friends, here we are!!! We are home!!!! What a wonderful place to be!!!! We got home about 3:30 yesterday. It was a whirlwind!!! First we weren't supposed to be going home until today, and all of a sudden, they were loading Norm into the wheelchair to take him down to the car!!! You sure didn't see us looking back!

We have had a pretty good day today. It is always hard to get into a new routine, and that is what we have been working at today. I am so glad we have a nice walker and a shower bench, cause they sure come in handy when Norm isn't feeling well. He is doing so well, I don't think he is going to need them for long, but at least we have them. He just has a little trouble standing long enough to take a shower, so the bench is great. The poor guy had his first shower in almost three weeks.

Again, I have so many people to thank. We both have felt your prayers and well wishes. Norm continues to amaze me. He has so much fight in him, and he has certainly done that.

We have had wonderful doctors and nurses. It is really something to watch....how everyone in that place is a team. They are all working for the welfare of the patient. We were very well taken care of. I am grateful to all who assisted in taking care of Norm.

One thing was really fun, about going back was that we knew someone almost everywhere we went!!!! Neuro Shock Trauma ICU, Adult ICU, Physical Therapy, Respiratory, Housecleaning, CVICU, OR, Cafeteria!!!! Kinda like one big happy family.

I certainly left there feeling like we had been blessed. There were so many sick people there, and such sadness. We met a man whose wife was in the room right next to Norms, in Adult ICU. We had been watching him walk back and fourth for a couple of days. He finally stopped by and talked to us. I asked him if he had family there and he said that his wife was there and he was making arrangements to take her home and "let her go". She had cervical cancer and had been through just about everything there was to go through. Finally, a day later, he made arrangements to take her home, thinking he had a couple of days with her, so that she could visit with her children. She died on the way home, alone, with her husband. He was a very brave man. It was obvious he loved his wife dearly, but knew she was ready to meet her Heavenly Father. I was happy for the family, and sad at the same time.

Yes, it is nice to be home with a semi-healthy husband. My neighbors have been so good to us. Mowed our lawn, picked our onions and layed them out to dry, weeded our whole garden, picked our raspberries, made me my favorite pasta salad and put it in my fridge so I could have some when I came home at night, and so many other things. My kids in Spanish Fork were awesome too, and I will be forever grateful. Christy came up and stayed with me for two full days, and Roger stayed home with the girls for two full days, (and they were his days off!!!), without a car. Jake called a lot, to find out how his dad was. It was so nice to hear his voice.

We are going to take the next couple of weeks pretty easy. We have only been home a day and I can already see progress with Norm. The cardiologist made some pretty big changes in his heart meds, and we need to see how he is going to do, before we make plans for anything. So, we are "hangin out"!

Thanks to all or out friends who love us in spite of ourselves, and our family who are there, no matter what. I miss my kids in Alaska, and I know they would have been here if they could have. They were worried, I know and so far away. It must have been hard for t hem.

All is well!!! As Norm says, "I am on the mend".

For each new morning with it's light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food, for love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends.

Ralph Waldo Emerson