I'll Fly Away.....

We didn't sleep a wink that Sunday night. Any of us. How could we? We all felt like a bunch of eight year old's on Christmas Eve. Aside from a minor stroke we took when Number Four's friend called that evening, you could've heard a pin drop in here. The seven of us, taking turns at the kitchen table, staring at each other. The sound of the clock ticking in the background. She's coming home. Twelve more hours. Eight more hours. Four more hours. I just about peed my pants by the time our nurse arrived the next morning.

Last Minute Details

Her Last Nap In The PICU

April met us here, and we gave her the low down on our master plan for the day. We'd drive to the hospital, go directly to the PICU first, make a pit stop at the outpatient pharmacy, load up the van, dress the baby, sign some paperwork, say farewell, and come home. With Little Bird! But we never expected this 'so long' to sting as much as it did. 

"See you soon, Claire!"

She Took It Better Than We Did!

Ready To Fly!

We knew it would be difficult. We knew it would be. You don't spend seven months intertwined with people on a deeply personal level and simply walk away without a dry eye. That is an impossibility. We just wanted to make sure that our team knew that this was not goodbye. Not by any means. So we all whipped out our calenders, and compared outpatient appointments to shifts. And we promised that even on those lazy days in between, we will be back. Not because Doc S told us that if we didn't, he'd send the cops. Just because. 

It wasn't until Claire came in, only moments before we walked out of room number ten, did the emotion of the day begin to choke me. You see, Claire was the very first face we met when we arrived at the PICU on December 9th, 2011. It was she who said, "I can't make you any promises, but we will certainly try our best to get your daughter off of the ventilator."  Everything ends where it begins. Little Bird is now breathing on her own, unassisted. Claire made good on her word. 

"Don't be nervous, Momma!"

Here We Go!

We made our way to those double doors with haste. Not because we necessarily wanted to rush the moment. But because if I didn't leave then, I'd still be there now, hugging everyone, and crying like a baby. We stepped off of that elevator, and walked the corridor for the final time. As we approached the hospital's exit, I could barely see clearly enough to grab the camera and record it. Little Bird. Leaving the hospital. After three hundred and fifty nine days inpatient. And just like that, she spread her wings, and she flew away...

    
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