Ashley was Matthew�s Social Worker. She brightens every room and is the world�s most patient listener. Ashley absolutely embodies empathy.
 

This is the world famous, ever positive, Sandy! She was Matthew�s Nurse Practitioner and our most reassuring friend. Sandy truly understood how to word the day�s news to Terri in a way she could handle. I am eternally grateful. 

Carolyn is the head Chaplain at the children�s hospital. She was ever vigilant when it came to visiting and praying for our family.
 

Carolyn blesses Matthew 

Grandma Sue couldn't miss the farewell party! I love you Mom. Thanks for always being there for me. 

Jerry was Matthew's parrot loving Respiratory Therapist. He was always positive and helped us pass the time with birdie stories.  

Tracey watched over Matthew like a hawk when he was first back from surgery. She is from Hawaii and loves to "talk story". 

Keniki always put Terri at ease. We will miss her. 

Keniki and Beatrice dropped in to say goodbye to Matthew. I managed to lure them away from kissing Matthew and we snapped this photo.
 

Everyone please pray for a smooth flight tomorrow. What would I do without these two smiling faces? 

I can't wait to meet Sunny! 

This evening we spoke with Med Flight, the medical transport service flying Matthew back to Las Vegas. The plane is scheduled to land in San Jose at 11am and the ambulance should be arriving here at Stanford around 11:30am. They will likely have room for Terri to fly with Matthew. So I will see my precious cargo off for Las Vegas, then pick up my father-in-law Leroy that evening and prepare to drive the RV back Tuesday.
 

Steve & Cynthia Hoer from Las Vegas came to visit us today. In addition to being an Orthopedic Surgeon, Steve is a bishop at their church. The last time we saw them Steve and his son said a blessing over Matthew when he was only a few weeks old. Steve and Cynthia were amazed at how much bigger Matthew is now.
 

For Matthew, the waiting is the hardest part.
 

Dan & �Lucy Lu� Jiang came to visit us this afternoon. Their daughter, Alyson, had the same defect as Matthew. Alyson was in the bed next to Matthew�s and we became friends. We went out to dinner tonight and as we shared our child rearing experiences I was stuck by the similarities. Both Dan and I approached our child�s problem from a man�s analytical perspective. We each looked at the statistics & treatment options and decided then and there that our child would be fine. Lucy and Terri, on the other hand, were 180 degrees from us. They ignored reason and were led by their emotions. Lucy is a software engineer and thus is very analytical. But when it came to her child, she had all the same worries, guilty feelings, and �why me� thoughts as Terri. Terri and Lucy each recounted the same reactions to the doctors telling them this experience would make them stronger. �I don�t want to be strong�, they each thought, �I would rather be weak and have a healthy baby!� Dan and Lucy are great confidants because they know exactly what we�ve been through.
 

The King Trio with Josh & Kristen Carter

Josh & Kristen Carter came to visit today. Early readers of the Blog may remember the similar story with their son Elijah. They brought gifts for Matthew and Terri. They gave Matthew a little stuffed giraffe. They explained that to pump the blood all the way up to their head, giraffes have the biggest hearts of any land based mammals. What a perfect sentiment for Matthew. Knowing that Terri�s thoughts are never far from Matthew, they gave her a darling bracelet with his name on it. We really enjoyed meeting them and I got the impression that they benefited from a visit back to the hospital under better circumstances. May the Lord bless their journey towards healing.
 

We saw Dr. Hanley yesterday on our way out of the CVICU. Yes, the halo is still there. Look close, this is the man who saved my son's life. Oh and Kim, Terri said she still hears the angels singing in the background when he's around. 

This is Jing, one of Matthew's loving night nurses. Jing loves "The Kid". 

Grandma Sue helped keep Matthew's pacifier in place today. 

Matthew looking out his new window. 

We were moved to a new room across the way today. The rooms are filled with patients based on their acuity level (how sick they are). Since Matthew is healthy and getting ready to leave, he was moved to the other end of the CVICU. We had quite a bit of nurses and doctors come by today to wish us luck and say goodbye in case they don�t see us by Monday. We are reluctant to make a big production out of our pending departure. Past experience has shown that if you are too rigid in your planning, Matthew�s occasional surprises make for a very disappointing delay.
 

Matthew and I wore Matching red shirts today

Richard is one of the workers here at the hospital. He stopped in to refill some supplies today while I was holding Matthew. I used to think he felt sorry for our family and all we had been through. He would always look at us quietly and smile. But this afternoon I saw something different in his eyes. He told me that he and his wife could not have children and were contemplating adoption. We talked about the various concerns that go along with adoption and invetro-fertilization. Suddenly it dawned on me. Even with all our troubles, the look in Richard�s eyes was envy.
 

This was Matthew at 10am and... 

�this was Matthew at 4pm

Having trouble differentiating the two? That is because he was comfortable and asleep most of the day. He had a few very respectable messy diapers but little else to write home about. And that, my friends is the way we like it!
 

Matthew & Katelyn

Thankfully, it appears that yesterday was enough drama for two days. Matthew was back to his old self today. All of his settings were back to pre-catastrophe levels. The doctors and nurses agreed to keep his meds and settings status quo. Sandy the Nurse Practitioner, made it a point to tell Terri �I�m pleased� as has become her reassuring custom. Now that Matthew is back on Vapotherm, I was given the task of inserting his �NG� (Naso-Gastric feeding tube). After several attempts in both nostrils, I got it in. It was definitely not a pleasurable experience. Katelyn, Matthew�s wonderful nurse, was right by my side and helped wipe off the traces of blood left on the tube after each unsuccessful attempt. The utopian image I had of feeding my son a bottle while cradled in my arms will have to wait. These feedings are strictly utilitarian.