June 11th.

I finally settled on a date... June 11th. Owen and I will fly to Stanford and begin our next journey in the transplant process.  The plan is to fly up in the morning and be admitted to the CICU later in the day.  He will also be bumped up on the transplant list from status 2 (at home and stable on oral meds) to status 1A (top priority).  For a few days, this will be our home away from home.

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Owen will have a PICC line placed, which is more permanent than a peripheral IV.  This will stay in place until he receives a heart.  His Milrinone will be given intravenously 24/7 and he will probably start to feel like a million bucks.  Milrinone is magical!  It's a inotrope used to treat heart failure, by helping his heart pump and contract more effectively. 

He will spend a couple days in the CICU until we get his medicine at therapeutic doses and then move to the step down unit at the hospital.  I will then be trained how to care for his PICC line and Milrinone infusions as an outpatient.  We will then (hopefully) move into our home away from home, the Ronald McDonald House.  The plan is for Kam to then come up with Daddy and spend the summer with us.  There are day camps, library programs, children's theatres, and tons of hiking trails around.  We plan to have a fun summer keeping busy with free programs and maybe even a couple day trips to the beach.  Daddy is hoping to spend a little bit of time with us this summer off and on, but it's his busy time of year at work. 

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As I was making all our travel arrangements yesterday, everything fell into place beautifully.  I got great deals on our airline tickets, car rental and despite all the hotels being booked for Stanford University graduation, I got a great deal at a hotel around the corner from the RMH.  The insurance is approving everything that is being submitted without hassle as well.  The timing will be great as we are starting to hit triple digit temps in Phoenix and we will be spending the summer in beautiful Palo Alto. 

 

Thank you for your continued prayers and support.  Every penny made on this blog with the ads is directly deposited into Owen's transplant account and used to pay for all this travel, medicines, and hospital stays.  We appreciate you all so much and can't wait to share the next journey with you. 

 

Until then, we have almost everyday of our calendar booked with things to do.  Sundays are our days of respite and calm, so I crossed those off as our days to unwind as a family.  We need a little calm before our upcoming adventure.  Other than that.. making memories and squeezing in lots of pool time before Owen is banned from water due to his PICC line.