Home Sweet Home

Ahhhhh, rest has come and we are so happy to be HOME!!!  We crawled into bed last night shortly after our arrival home, and Chrissie squealed with delight as she cheerfully exclaimed, "Ahhhh, I LOVE this bed.  It's so comfy!!!"  (I kid you not...those were the exact words of our precious daughter who has only been home 4 months and speaks amazing English!!!)  Chrissie slept peacefully through the night in our own bed without any IV, blood pressure, or oxygen alarms going off.  No one came in to take vitals or force Chrissie to do anything but sleep.  She slept like a rock.  (I woke throughout the night to check on her, even though she was sleeping right next to me, but I just needed to make sure she didn't have fever and that her breathing was OK, and it was all good.)  Ahhhh, home sweet home!!!

Chrissie is still sick, but we are able to handle things at this point on our own.  We have very specific instructions of what to watch for, when to take her to the ER, etc., and Chrissie is on all sorts of good meds to heal her.  She continues to receive breathing treatments every 4 hours as well as a strong antibiotic (to fight pneumonia) and steroids to reduce respiratory inflammation.  She's still coughing, but not nearly as much as she was just a couple of days ago.  She's still irritable and needs lots of rest, but it is WONDERFUL to have her home where she isn't traumatized by the simple presence of medical staff.  Chrissie also feels so relaxed in our home with her brothers and sisters and the familiarities of Patterson life that bring her peace and joy.

It will probably be another week until Chrissie is back to normal.  She needs LOTS of rest, but she hates to be in bed.  She doesn't have energy to play, so we're trying to entertain with quiet activities and lots of naps.  Tonight was the first night that Chrissie has eaten in a full week.  She LOVED the homemade crispy tacos that I made, along with chips and queso.  This is the first "real" meal that Chrissie has willingly wolfed down...EVER!  (She didn't even like "real" food in Serbia...just chocolate! :-)

Please continue to pray for Chrissie and a quick restoration for her.