Dorothy was right, there is no place like home! They kicked us out yesterday. We were in our cars and heading home by 12:30 pm. Well, two of us were heading home, the other had to go to the pharmacy and pick up some pain meds. I think we all took a big sigh of relief when we walked in the door. I know that two of us slept like it was our job last night.

We have only been home 32 hours, so we haven’t quite adjusted to the new normal yet, but we are not in Kansas anymore Toto! 1. Sam tried to do too much once he walked over the threshold. He made himself food, rinsed out the bathtub in his old room (even though it had been cleaned), rearranged some stuff, etc. Let’s just say by 4pm he was laying on the couch in quite a bit of pain. 2. The tub at the hospital is way bigger than the tub in his bathroom. He managed though and may have a future as a contortionist in the circus.  3. I miss the never ending supply of clean linens and how they magically appear at the hospital. I also miss housekeeping cleaning the debridement tub. I have done 4 loads of linens and cleaned two different tubs, two times each. (We moved treatment to my jacuzzi tub today so he could actually submerge his entire body at one time.) My hands are chapped from cleaning supplies and the constant washing. 4. We miss the nurses. I have one patient and I was still late giving meds today. I don’t know how they handle multiple patients.

With all that being said, there is still no place like home, as you can tell by all the smiles in the picture above. We have so much to be thankful for. We have slept, showered and been stuffed with food brought to us by dear friends. Sam still has a long way to go but we are amazed at how much better the burns look each day. Half his face and neck are still red and peeling, but he no longer has to have his head wrapped in dressings. You can’t see the red in the picture because that side of his face is in a shadow. The under side of his right arm, torso and left leg needs to be wrapped and all or some may required skin grafts, but he is alive and has all his appendages. He is back home, a very different person then when we asked him to move out. (A story for another blog post.) After 3 years of living on his own, he has to live with us for a while, which is hard for him, but he knows it’s best. If he listens to the doctor, changes his dressings, debride’s as instructed, and eats, he will be back to work and at his house in no time. All he has to do is follow the yellow brick road.