Day 23 and 24

On day 23 we were discharged form the hospital! Bridger woke up early and I told him today we get to leave the hospital he was so excited. For two hours he kept asking, “are we going now?” In all the excitement he must have worn himself out because he slept for about three hours. I finished packing. I had most of it packed the day before. When the Dr.’s came in and saw some boxes and bags packed they said “you’re already packed”. I told them I had packed most our stuff and that we were really hopeful that we would be leaving tomorrow. I finely got Bridger to wake up and get ready to go. I don’t think he believed me until he saw our Mt. Everest sized pile of bags all loaded up on a cart and ready to go. Once we got our discharge information and medicines from our nurse and signed all the paper work, we were free to go.

Before we could leave the hospital Blake and his Mom had to unload their stuff at the trailer. When they got there they decided the trailer needed some extra cleaning. Two hours later they came to get us. It felt like a parade getting down stairs to the loading area. One person pushed our Mt. Everest cart while I carried my purse, a bag of dirty laundry, a backpack and held Bridger’s hand. Behind us another person pulled to suitcases. As we walked in a line, all the nurses and Dr.’s waved goodbye. Bridger waved and yelled goodbye through his “jet” mask. The only thing missing was candy being thrown. We eventually made it down stairs and were standing on the curb when all the sudden Bridger started waving and yelling, “there’s dad … I see the red car!” He was very enthusiastic. Then he saw Grandma Gus. He was so happy he jumped right into the car with a huge grin. Bridger asked his Grandma “Do you like my balled head? It’s ok if people see it, I’m ok”. We quickly loaded our stuff into the two cars, yes it took two. Once loaded, we had to go pick up a package our donor sent to us. When we picked up the package we were so excited … it was a Cars themed Bicycle. I couldn’t believe it and Bridger thought it was so cool. He can’t wait to set it up. We have to buy a helmet and protective gear first. Finlay after a stop at Target we made it to the trailer. Bridger loves it; he calls it our house on wheels. We spent the rest of the night unpacking, and grocery shopping. It was a long day.

What happens Next for Bridger?
Their have been a lot of questions as to what happens next so here is the low down. We will be living 15 min south of the Hospital. We will be in a trailer (in an RV resort that is the nicest I have seen.) We will live here at least until we reach day 100, some time in December. Bridge will be on the same diet and Isolation restrictions as he was on in the hospital, at least for the time being. So, we still shouldn’t have any visitors. In a pinch we have been told that he can accompany me to the grocery store at the least busy time. Bridger has to wear a big mask with special filters whenever he is by people, outside when there is construction close by, or if someone comes to visit. He also has to wear his mask when we dust and vacuum in the trailer, which is going to be hard because he really loves to vacuum. He has already asked me a few times if he could use the vacuum. I don’t know how much longer I can hold him off. He has to also be carful as far as getting any scratches, cuts, hitting his head and so forth; his blood doesn’t have good clotting factors right now. He is getting more active by the day, so we will have to be extra carful. We will be going back to the hospital BMT clinic three times a week to check all his blood factors and make sure the levels of his medication aren’t too high in his body. Right now he takes 9 pills in the morning and 4 at night. This could change at any time depending on what the doctors find in his blood work. Even though he is producing 100% donor cells right now he is not producing as much as a normal person. In addition, His lymph system isn’t currently active, so he can’t fight viruses. We have to be extra careful right now. While we have crossed an important milestone in his progress, his immune system is still very weak. We have been told that it will take at least a year for his immune system to come back fully. Basically, we are going to be living in the trailer, but doing everything we did in the hospital, with the added advantage of more privacy and a little more freedom. I’m really looking forward to being able to take some walks with Bridger.


This is a chain of love that we have been working on. our carrollton 3rd ward members each signed a strip of paper with words of encouragement. Each day we added links to the chain it circled our room when ever people would ask him about it he would casually say all those people are praying for me.
Bridger was so proud that he built this all by himself. thanks A. family.
Our MT. Everest

Bridger's jet mask

Our house on wheels

Day 24
We are moved in. It took all day to get everything put in its place. In less than 24 hours of living here we got a lesson on RV plumbing and electricity. First the shower backed up. Apparently there is a lever you have to pull to dump the catch basin. This needs to be done once a week or more depending on how much water you are using. Then we got a lesson on not using too much wattage at one time. We had the ceiling fan, the tv, obviously too many lights, and the AC all on at once. This caused the AC unit to stop working. Luckily it was an easy fix. We just had to flip the breaker. Moderation in all things I guess. We are so happy to be out of the hospital for many reasons. The top of the list is FOOD! First thing this morning Bridger insisted on cooking pancakes and sausage with his grandma. It was delicious. Second on the list is being able to go out side in the sun. The RV next to us has a Bulldog. I put Bridger on the trunk of our car so he cold see the dog. He just giggled and giggled as he watched the dog.