Reuben's coming home on Monday

After 95 days in hospital on this admission, more medical intervention than most people have in a lifetime, bouts of pseudomonas, pneumonia, a cardio bypass, a heart attack, lung collapses, aortic valve cathetarisation, 2 throat surgeries, a natural pacemaker block, Mickey tube replacement, pick lines into his heart, 6 failed extubations and a tracheostomy, our Reuben is finally coming home on 15 October.

He leaves behind his need for oxygen support, a nebuliser and many meds, but comes home with a repaired heart, a tracheostomy, cardio, electrolyte and narcotic meds, the latter we are to ween him off at home. His weight is 5.17kg, up from 4kg upon admission.

The sweet 6 year old girl with the wispy afro hair in the hospital whom I shall call Macy to protect her privacy, has been living at Children's for a year. She comes into Reuben's room all the time, wheeling herself in and out, the nurses shooing her away.

She came up to me again yesterday, gave me a big smile and said

"Hello. How are you today? I was worried about you yesterday".

I told her she was a little angel from above. Macy hugged me again. Jason calls her trouble. "I'm not trouble" she replies and wheels herself out of the room with a cheeky little smile on her face.