The Life Semester

Well...she did it. Rosemary graduated to HOME! It seriously felt like her college graduation when we left the hospital the night of March 30, 2010. Since we've been home, she has remet so many of her physical milestones and is back to herself mentally and emotionally, which are the biggest reasons for her daily triumphs.

The first day that we were home, it was absolutely gorgeous. The sun was shining, a warm breeze met our faces as we stepped into Spring and began our new adventure outside the walls of the hospital. I almost felt like I needed a debriefing from hospital life back to real life. Before our discharge, Rosie had only been walking again for a few days. So when she first stepped onto a sidewalk, I could see her brain trying to figure out how to scale the cracks in the sidewalk. Her brain knew what it wanted to do, but to coordinate her body to respond took some retraining and relearning patience with herself. She was starring at it, I could see her thinking, "Come on! I know how to do this, why isn't it working?" It took her the first day to get comfortable stepping on the cracks and regaining her balance. But of course, her bountiful determination helped her defeat the sidewalk cracks and the numerous physical challenges she would face in the days ahead.

By her fourth day at home, she began climbing up the ladder of the playhouse out back and sliding down the slide. I was just as excited as she was. I wanted to let her do whatever she wanted, no matter how freaked out I was about her fragile little body scaling physical obstacles. She wasn't strong enough to wear her feeding pump back pack, but we figured out a way to make it happen. As she climbed the ladder and made it to the top, I would throw her back pack over toward the slide, run around the playhouse to meet her on the other side, grab her bag and hold her hand as she flew down the slide, giggling with joyful thrills. The look on her face was priceless. What an amazing experience to have the positive contrast on this side of life again.

Everyday is filled with new revelations for her and for our family. She improves in strength and agility, she's dancing and laughing and almost running which is the cutest thing to watch. I didn't think about any of these joys while we were in the hospital because when she was sick, it was about getting her through each day with as much comfort as possible. Now it's about getting her through each day with as much joy, happiness and new experiences to enhance her life. These were the things I couldn't think about then, but are the joys of my life now.

There are simply no words to describe the shift in my mentality as a Mother in the hospital, and a Mother at home. I have found now, that whether I'm here at the house, at the doctor's office or the hospital, my life is about making Rosie's life, and the lives of my other children the absolute best it can possibly be. It has challenged me to think about what I need to do with my own life so that I can be the best Mom I can be.

The last several months have taught me and my family quite a bit about ourselves. We've all graduated in some ways, but I think Rosie's diploma has a few more credits. Congratulations Rose. We love you.