It is so nice to be reunited!! John brought the kids (and grandma) down for a visit through the weekend. Jack was so happy to see his siblings again. I was over the moon! They will be staying through Sunday and are loving all the amenities at the Ronald McDonald House.

Good is proving to be a challenge. Jack ended up hypoglycemic after his lunch and had to drink a lot of juice to try to get his sugar up. His stomach wasn’t a fan. He ended up throwing all of his food up. Bummer. By the time he felt like eating again he was out of his 8 hour window.

the siblings headed off to bed and we had a mostly uneventful night except for the tornado warning. Jack was already asleep so I was given the option to shelter in place with Jack or LEAVE HIS ROOM AND SHELTER while Jack continued to sleep in his bed in the room alone. Who picks leave their kid?! Anyway I clearly chose to shelter in place so we pushed his bed against the wall furthest away from the window, and I sat next to him with a sheet tented over us until we got the all clear. Luckily he slept through it and no windows broke. After that it was a quiet night and we both slept fine.

At rounds today we were told the goal is outpatient by Monday. We will be installing his personal pump and continuous glucose monitor and I will be in charge of management over the weekend. If I pass we can be discharged to RMH. No pressure.

Jack tried eating again today. He kept it down a little longer but ultimately ended up losing his meal. We will just keep trying. Hopefully he can try to get some toast down before his food window closes. On the good news side, Jack got his neck catheter out today! He is down to just a stomach drain, his g/j feeding tube and an iv port on his wrist. He also has his insulin pump and CGM but that isn’t so uncomfortable.

I spent the afternoon finishing my crash course on diabetes management and learned how to care for the feeding tube. Tomorrow I learn all things omnipod and dexcom. So fun.

We got to visit with Grover the therapy dog today which was a nice treat. The kids met Grover over spring break when Jack got his CT scan and were excited to see him again.

Jack is starting back up with schoolwork today and is actually excited to dive back in! I thought it would be a struggle but instead he was ready to go! He will meet with a tutor daily or as needed until we are out of Cincinnati. We lucked out and got the most amazing teacher (shoutout to Ms. Crankshaw!!) who put significant effort into his lessons and aiding him to continue learning: we are so grateful.

I cannot stress enough how thankful I am for the large community who has shown up and helped. Thanks for the ecards, the texts, the messenger messages, emails, ride coordinations, visits (the days have been full of so many milestones I forgot to give Aunt Teresa and Uncle Mike a shoutout for the visit this weekend! It was a wonderful break from the chaos of reality), fundraising, pet care, play dates for my other kiddos, emotional support for the siblings…the list is endless. I see you all and I thank you all. I’m terrible at responding because honestly this whole thing is exhausting emotionally, physically and mentally. I’m constantly caring for Jack, advocating for him, getting educated to support him, or just spending time talking, playing or reading to him. It reminds me of his first 22 months when we had so many adventures just the two of us. Another silver lining of the whole ordeal that I cherish.

Here’s to a tornado free night and a vomit free tomorrow…fingers crossed!