Leaving the Hospital

We were all surprised at how quickly Kyle's doctors were willing to discharge him from the hospital just days after a very intense surgery.  However, they seemed confident that the rest of Kyle's healing could be done at home and the main focus at this point was to keep the leg clean and manage his pain properly.  We juggled our schedules and plans to accommodate an early home coming for Kyle.

On Sunday, July 25th, Elsie and Bill would drive Kyle to Pittsburgh while Kyle's good friend, John Trzeciak, would drive down to load up his car with some of Kyle's bags and packages and drop me off at the airport.  After packing Kyle up and sending him off and then setting the GPS for Reagan National Airport, Tree and I decided I should change my flight and head to Pittsburgh for Kyle's first night home too.  With a quick flight change and a u-turn, we were on our way to Pittsburgh.

While this was such an exciting day, I think it's fair to say it was also a bit scary at times for this new phase.  We all wanted to see Kyle out of the hospital - getting to sleep better and eat better.  Those were some of the greatest challenges for him toward the end of his inpatient stay.  Kyle had lost a noticeable amount of weight throughout his five weeks at NNMC and hadn't had a full shower like he would have liked.  Heading home under these circumstances was all new territory for Kyle and his family.  For the last five weeks Kyle had around-the-clock professional medical care.  Adjusting to a lifestyle with a wheelchair and serious wounds to tend to was something we all needed to figure out.  

Kyle writes his evaluation of his stay at Bethesda NNMC on his last day in the hospital.

An excerpt from Kyle's evaluation:  "Overall everything was excellent, I owe my leg to the service here, thank you, God Bless."

Elsie grabbed a photo of me and Kyle before packing up the last of his things and heading down to the pharmacy and then on to the parking garage.

Kyle is ready to get out of the hospital as he grins ear to ear and holds some necessities for the car ride in his lap.

Kyle sits outside of his room and looks around the hallways, wearing his Jolly Green t-shirt and waiting for his mom to finish gathering the rest of his things so we could head out.

Elsie and Bill stand by to help Kyle get into the back seat of their Honda and settle him in comfortably for the four hour drive back to Pittsburgh.

Kyle rests in the back seat with his right leg on a pillow and his crutches on the floor with him.  Happy to be leaving the hospital and head home to get some good rest and relaxation.