Headed back to Florida

WHEW....yesterday afternoon and evening were ROUGH with Sam.  I think this surgery has been the most painful for him.  He screamed for probably 45 minutes at one point...and cried bloody tears.  He finally went to sleep around 9pm and slept well.  This morning he wouldn't open even his good eye for about an hour but things got better from there on.  We saw Dr A this afternoon and got some stronger meds to help him through the next few days...especially on the plane in the morning!!!

 

Here is a picture of Sam and Dr A.  We LOVE that man....every time Sam walks down the hall, grabs for a toy, enjoys tv....it's all thanks to the God given talent that Dr A has.  Sam was born blind, the corneal transplants he had as an infant did not help much and by the time he was 3 yrs old, they'd failed/been rejected by his eye.  But then we heard of Dr Aquevella, and we went to him and he gave Sam the gift of sight, real sight, not just light/dark.  He works with us, he listens to any concerns we have, I even have his cell phone number (LOL brave man)  I don't think he even knows how eternally grateful we are to him.  He has blessed our lives so very much!   He worked for DECADES on the whole idea of a corneal implant and worked with others and saw it come to be.  He has shown such dedication and it's easy to see the love the staff has for him.  He is a very special man!

 

Today while I was waiting for Sam's prescription, I walked around the hospital...

 

this is the corridor on the 4th floor facing the doors of the PICU

 

 

the picu doors

 

the step down section Selah was in....

 

Lots of memories....

 

 

Rochester NY is such a wonderful city. It's a small city with the feeling of a small town.  It's very community based.  Everyone has always been so friendly to us and of course we felt overwhelmed by the love and concern after the accident.  This week has been a homecoming of sorts for me.  Around every corner of the hospital, someone stops and speaks to us and gives hugs.  (I don't mind hugs when I haven't seen someone for months LOL)  I was stopped 3x today within 10 minutes!  And you all know how much I love the Rochester Ronald McDonald House, staff and volunteers!  They've all made me feel so welcomed as always!  Well we always feel welcomed EXCEPT for the CRAZY Rabbit (?) in the backyard of the RMH house LOL  My son Steve says it moves closer to the basement windows at night LOL!

 

 

 

Rochester is beautiful in the spring!!!!

 

 

Last night I got a call on my cell from one of the reporters we had bonded with here.  She said she was up for an award for one of the interviews she did with us.  She wanted to do an update.  She was floored when I told her I was actually in Rochester!  So we are meeting tonight, I'm not sure if it will be shown on the news but if it is, I'll re post it here. 

 

So we fly out early tomorrow with a connection in Atlanta...we'll be home before lunch, the Good Lord willing!

Please say a prayer or two for us for safety and that Sam stays as comfortable as possible!

 

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So a year ago today we had gone back to the US Embassy and gotten all of the girls' paperwork....we ate at TGIF and were in bed early since we were leaving the apartment at 3am!!  The Kiev airport is way out of town, our flight was at 5 am and May 9th is a big celebration there so there were parades and all kinds of things planned for the day. 

 

To say we were dreading the trip home was an understatement LOL  we didn't know how we were going to do it with 3 little ones...But we each had "our kid" and it worked fine.  Jon had Sarah who was the tiniest, I had Selah and of course Steve had Sam. 

 

It's "funny"  I'm in that same situation today...leaving EARLY in the morning and really dreading the trip because I'm afraid Sam is going to go out of his mind and start screaming again.... Hopefully my trip home tomorrow will be as uneventful as last year

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

View from our apartment in Kiev

 

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I did an interview tonight with Ms Adams from the NBC station Ch 10 here in Rochester.  She interviewed us first last year and we really connected with her sweet spirit.  She encouraged me as a believer.  I'll post the interview tomorrow.  Now I'm cleaning up, packing and dealing with Sam.  He was asleep, then my dear friend came by so I got him up to eat but he really wouldn't eat much so I've put him back to bed.  Please pray for him.  He is just not himself at all.  I'm dreading the trip home.   

 

Thanks for all your prayers....especially for the trip home!!!!!