29th OLOL admit and back home

(Braden at OLOL)

After 4 1/2 days in the NICU, Braden's medical team agreed we were ready to head back home, and keep treating his 5 trach infections at home with 2 oral antibiotics (okay, they are still 'oral' even though we administer through the G-tube) and nebulized tobramyacin. This time the docs made sure we had all our scripts filled BEFORE we could go home. Last time it took 3 days for us to get all of them.

So Braden is already feeling better and just more "juicy" than usual - lots of bibs and suctions through the day. Wouldn't you know it, our friend JazMyn was hospitalized yesterday and released to treat her very own strep infection at home, for fear she would catch something else while hospitalized if she stayed. So now the princess and boss of Braden is taking her own medicine too. I TOLD YOU these kids always get sick at the same time!

JazMyn and LaTacia are gearing up to come stay at our house in a few weeks... soon Brad and I will be leaving to take our 10th anniversary trip to renew our vows in St. Lucia. We've been planning it for two years, and faced many hurdles trying to make it happen, but we really want to reconnect before we start trying for another child. Yes, we've decided we are ready. It was a very personal decision for us, and one that we've been weighing ever since our diagnosis Fall 2008. But 11 rounds of genetic testing have come up with NOTHING.

Braden seems to be that fraction of a percentage where Leigh's just happens with no real explanation. While there is a genetic form, it's unlikely that we fit in that category at this point. We know of several families facing this disease, and of all the families, we've only heard of one of them having two children with a recurrence of the disease. I think the real push we've felt to try again, is that we were ready to adopt a child in the hospital the same time as Braden on a ventilator because he needed a home, and if we were ready to take a child home that is not even ours and has medical needs, then why wouldn't we be willing to care for another of our own, special needs or not? I think it was then that we felt God was calling us to have another. I know that everyone may not agree with our decision, but I hope you can at least respect our decision that we have not entered into lightly by any means.

The world that has been shown to us through Braden, shows us that God does not make any mistakes. God provides many blessings through the most difficult of situations, and we still have to be willing to trust that He will lead us to the right decision. So yes, we are ready, but the WHEN is still in God's hands, if that in fact is His will.

So we are excited to head to St. Lucia for our first vacation since our honeymoon, with a chance to reconnect with one another, and re-energize our relationship and our spirits after a rough 4 years raising Braden. We hope to have many great photos to share once we get back... we leave on May 25 for 9 wonderful days, and will renew our vows on Memorial Day while we are there. Pray for us to have a safe journey, pray that Braden will stay healthy after this recent "tune-up" for LaTacia, and that LaTacia and her family will be given any guidance from above necessary in our absence. It's a big leap of faith for all of us, and we are so grateful for LaTacia and her family to give us this opportunity. Let's also pray that Braden remains healthy and behaves while we are away for an uneventful journey here in LA while we are gone for a little over a week. JazMyn will have lots of adventures to tell about how she moved in with her "white brother", like she calls Braden - adorable, just love that. I know Braden will enjoy having her so close for those days we are gone.

Thanks for checking on us,
Braden, Brad & Kodi