We are going home...

...on Thursday. I am so happy and also excited and just a teeny tiny bit nervous. I can't wait to have us all back as a family again. The discharge meeting was daunting. Everyone this end was sitting round a small table with a triangular microphone in the middle. The Chelsea and Westminter and local Croydon teams joined in on conference calls. At the start, our consultant here said he had no date in mind. Then, out of the blue and to the surprise of his colleagues as much as everyone else, he announced we were going home on Thursday!! We will be seen once a week, alternating between Birmingham and Chelsea initially so we will be back here next week. In three weeks time, he will be back in for an overnight stay for endoscopy and biopsies and this will be repeated every 3 months. This means 'special sleep' every 3 months which will not be at all appreciated by Wills! We have been told to expect emergency admissions as the first two years post transplant are vulnerable ones and problems can and do arise. We are going home though and we can take everything else in our stride. The only slight concern is that William's stoma is getting increasingly swollen and prolapsed. It is OK for now and we hope it will stay the same before pulling back in as he grows. If it gets much worse he may need another operation to re-fashion it. I am hoping this will not become necessary!

I am feeling very reflective about all that we have been through. It has been a tremendous journey and our arrival here seems an eternity ago. I want to remember everything about it and will be writing copious notes to record every detail over the next few weeks and months. I'm sure some of my musings will be shared on here. In the meantime, I am thinking about home and the things I have missed the most and am most looking forward to:

1. Is, of course, being with Hope and Ellie!!

(others, in no particular order)

• having friends round
• cooking
• singing along to my i-tunes playlists outloud
• space
• wearing different clothes to the ones I have lived in for the last 3 months
• my nespresso cofee machine
• freedom, being able to go into the kitchen without waiting to be let back in again
• being able to be spontaneous and do something else other than the books and things I have with me

I really miss being able to go to Church, go shopping and generally get out and about but they will all have to be worked around Wills for the next four months as he is unable to mix socially until six months after his transplant. I will have to be inventive and think of lots of ways to entertain (healthy) visitors at home so do let me know if you are planning to be in the Croydon area any time in the next few months.