Day 123 - October 16 - Well, he's home

We made it - he's here. We've gotten him safely ensconced in his new temporary bedroom (the dining room), but man, what a journey.

It began last night when Connor and I struggled pretty much all night to keep his lungs clear as he adjusted to the new ventilator. Cherié relieved me at 0830 so I could go home for a few hours and put together all the shelving we needed to hold all of the equipment next to Connor's bed. I unloaded all the parts and got about a third into the project before I got to the piece that hadn't been drilled correctly, thus preventing me from putting the thing together. So, that's sitting in the living room to be taken back to the store for a refund.

Once that was over, I got picked up by a friend so I could get up to the place from whom I was renting a full-size van with rear-loading power lift so that I could take Connor home. When we got to the place, I began the arrangements only to discover that the van they had for me was a minivan with a ramp (no lift), and that they don't rent any full-size vans (despite the fact that we had arranged for a full-size van over the phone). The reason this was critical is that Connor, in his chair, exceeds the weight limit for a minivan, and the door and ceiling of a minivan force him to have to recline his chair in order to ride in the vehicle. Because of these things, I had to decline to rent the minivan.

So, now I don't have a vehicle to get Connor home, but I figure I'll just talk one of our occupational therapists into giving us a lift like they did on Tuesday. Alas, the hospital will not allow this due to liability concerns, since Connor has actually been technically discharged since midnight last night. So that idea is a bust.

Hmmm, what should I do now? No transportation, and the hospital won't help. I know, let's call all the other accessible vehicle rental places. No joy on any of them. How about taxis? Well, after three different referrals, I found a taxi company who actually has an accessible van taxi, but it's in the shop today. Most of the others have minivans, but they won't take a vent-dependent patient.

By now it's three o'clock. I guess I'll call the original company and take my chances on the minivan. They tell me they still have my original paperwork and I'm on my way. But, a few minutes later I get another call that the van has been rented by someone else. You're kidding, right?

Back to the hospital. How do we get home? Well, says the case worker, I'm working on getting an ambulance to take him, but you'll have to pick up the tab - $3000 for the 26-mile ride. "Urk", says I.

We finally got the ambulance ride pre-approved by the insurance company (who says miracles don't happen anymore?), and five hours after our projected discharge time they arrived to help Connor into the back of the truck. He was transported on a gurney instead of his wheelchair, so he doesn't have that here at home, but it should arrive tomorrow.

Once we got into the house, Cherié and I spent a couple hours with the equipment supplier trying to understand everything. Connor and Joélle laughed together, rejoicing in having the boy back inside the house. The boy devoured a fantastic steak dinner brought by some new friends, just thrilled to be back in a non-hospital environment with non-hospital food. The dog was going crazy all evening to have her boy back home again.

We're here. Connor's here. It's time for bed.

BTW, in answer to someone's question in the comments from one of the earlier posts, we have no extra care for Connor. My insurance has no provision for long-term care. Hopefully, MediCal and Social Security will kick in before too long to help with that, but until they do, the three of us will somehow care for Connor until January, when Joélle goes back to Moody in Chicago. Then it will be the two of us. Combined with all the offers for various kinds of help, we'll manage.

Please continue to pray.

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