it’s been a very exciting past few days. On Wednesday we met with endocrinology and tweaked Jack’s insulin levels to try to avoid the frequent crashes he was having. The lower levels seem to be working better. For the first time on solid foods Jack didn’t have a single crash the past 24 hours! He also didn’t go high, so we seem to be at a decent place for now.

Thursday marked his one month post surgery. We had a follow up with the pancreas team where we went in with a game plan. Endocrinology and surgery had signed off, we just needed GI and pancreas to agree. I brought in our data points, he walked them through his daily routine and the team agreed!! He got the all clear to head home! The head of the pancreas team said she thinks he holds the record for the fastest recovery. Naturally we are all thrilled. It was surreal to hear we are going home in half the time we anticipated. I still can’t get over the fact that it’s only been 10 days since he was discharged. It’s insane what a difference every day makes.Oh! That’s not all: he’s currently off night feeds!!!! While he might be thrilled about that, this exhausted mom is ecstatic. No more late nights and getting up every 3.5 hours to prepare formula and grind pills and run the mixer. No more stumbling around in the dark trying not to wake everyone while refilling feed bags. As long as he keeps gaining weight, he may be done for good with the tube feeds. For now we just use it for medication. He should be able to get the g/j tube out locally next month or when we go for our three month follow up in July. That’s right: no appointments in Cincinnati until end of July!

After our appointment we headed back to the Ronald McDonald House and packed up our room. It took a couple hours to empty everything out and clean the room but then we loaded up both vehicles and headed home!! We also won’t be back to the RMH until July. I can’t believe we are home!!

It feels like a dream. Jack and I set a goal and we actually pulled it off. All the hard work he put into his recovery and all the pushing John and I did paid off. His positive attitude and willingness to keep trying did wonders. I’m so proud of him, and if I’m honest I’m proud of our entire family. This has been insanely hard and I think the whole crew handled it with grace. We have a long road ahead with diabetes management and it’s a waiting game for a few months to see if his islets will take over. We are ready to keep powering through!

I’m so thankful for all the support we have received. I’m in awe of the generosity of everyone around us. All the words of encouragement, late night check ins, care packages, cards, prayers, coordination of family rides, school support…the list goes on and on —they helped immensely and kept us positive and motivated. Thank you to everyone for all you’ve done. I am forever thankful.

oh…did I mention Jack’s back at school?!? He only has two weeks left but he will be there for all of it. He is exhausted and sound asleep from a very full day back today, but the return to normalcy is everything. He gets to return to just being a kid, which is priceless.

Hopefully no updates for a couple months, fingers crossed he continues to improve by leaps and bounds. Next doctor appointment isn’t for 2 months so look for updates then!