Getting back to normal.

I've been wanting to give an update to our stem cell trip but some parts of the trip have really angered me and I needed a break before posting lest I look like I'm a ranting lunatic. But I probably will anyway so here goes...

Atlanta on the way down.

Can't you just see him asking if we're there yet.

The flights down there went pretty great. On our first Delta flight into the Dominican, a gentleman from business class immediately got out of his seat when he saw me get on the plane carrying Liam in that seat and he grabbed one side and helped me carry him all the way to the back of the plane. Not that I was going to refuse, but there was no way he was going to let me carry him alone. :)

On our return flight home I texted Shawn and told him I was never.ever flying with Liam again. It was the heat of the moment and I was done. Liam was over done. And I never want to do it again. Liam was a trooper. He really was. But sitting confined in a seat all day long when your body wants to move is painful.

On our first flight coming home from out of the Dominican he did pretty good. I got him situated well but he still isn't 'properly' seated so it can be a problem with his head control.

And that makes him cough.

So that's what he did.

The entire flight.

And the gentle(cough cough)man in the seat in front of Rylie rubber necked the ENTIRE flight to look at Liam. He even put his sunglasses on so he could stare with out looking so obvious. Like that wasn't obvious! I put Liam's iPad right in front of his face so the lookey loo couldn't see him.  Now, I understand, Liam is coughing. A LOT. But COME ON! Where did manners go? You look once or twice, can see the child has issues, then turn your face back around and keep to your own seat. Or, if you have a heart, ask if there's anything you can do. But don't ogle my son as if he has the freaking plague. He's obviously healthy, not crying, and I am attending to his needs. Leave us alone and get your staring fix by watching a movie. Rylie got a chance to stare him down when we switched seats and when he realized what she was doing he never looked back again. asdfghjkl...

After landing, a REAL gentleman in front of my seat, who never once turned around to look and stare, asked us if he could get our bags for us. That's what an empathetic, considerate person should do. I was so proud of him for being so kind. I wanted to tell him that but thought it would be too weird.

Trying to wake from the propofol after the extraction. This time they extracted stem cells from both hips.

When we got to Atlanta we had a three hour layover. I was happy about that because it allowed us time to get Liam out, eat, and just relax before another plane ride. Well, Liam was at his over done point. He was crying and crying and while Rylie and I tried to eat he wouldn't calm down. I had to get up and walk with him and let Rylie finish and then we'd switch off. Each time I walked him back to the tables where we were eating he would freak out and cry even harder. We switched off and I finished my now ice cold dinner and kept an eye on Rylie as she walked with Liam. Whenever she'd get close to my table he would cry again. I grabbed Liam and took off for the bathroom so he could lay out on the counter and relax and when I picked him up I lifted his shirt and saw a dark black and blue depression on his spine. His stroller straps had gotten twisted and had knotted right on the middle of his back and even though there was a thin cushion over it it was still digging into his spine.

After the cath, he wasn't complaining & for that I was shocked & happy.

I felt horrible. My poor wee man had been trying to tell me he hurt and I thought he was just bothered by all the traveling. Mom fail.

With the bruising on his thighs from the procedure and now the bruising on his back, he was not a happy guy. He cried for the rest of the layover. I felt so bad for the people in our tiny little terminal. They were probably only 20 seats and there was no escaping Liam's irritability.  None of them stared at us though. ;)

Once we were home Liam ran a low grade fever off and on for days. It would only last a couple of hours at the most.  He wasn't miserable, but he wasn't his happy self either and with not being able to give any medicines due to the stem cells, we relied heavily on homeopathic treatments to treat his discomfort. We did onions on the feet, egg whites on the feet, essential oils on the chest and feet, colloidal silver, and extra vitamins. It was the first time I've ever had one of my kids go medicine free for pain from a fever and Liam ended up doing really well.

He had to miss several days of school out of pure exhaustion and crankiness though and it took a full week following the procedure before he was back to his old self.

People ask when we will see improvements. It's a valid question. When will we see improvements? I want to see them now too. I'm praying we will see them now. But we might not see improvements for a while. It could be up to a year. And that's a long time to wait looking for signs of answered prayers and hopes and dreams.

This is the moment, after 20 min of a flipping, curving catheter, the Dr finally got it through and up into his carotid. You can't hear them in the room but they all shouted and whooped and were giving thumbs up in relief for finally getting it.

The gorgeous sunset view from our room. Ocean on the left & mountains on the right.