Day 17 - Discharged!

It's Sunday June 25 and we are just getting around to posting about Porter's discharge from the hospital on Friday. All of a sudden, we have the family together again and we can't seem to find the time to post to the blog! We have been busy swimming at the hotel, playing at the park, and just enjoying some sunny summer days in Boston. Tomorrow, Porter's transplant team will evaluate him in clinic. If they are pleased with his continued progress, they will let us return to Vermont!

We enjoyed a short visit from Michelle and Sean Farrell as they passed through on their way to the Cape for the week. Nurse Jamie from UVM was also coincidentally in Boston for a birthday celebration and dropped by to visit us at the hotel!

Almost three weeks after his transplant, Porter is ready to return home. We have a new slew of medications and medical instructions. Porter's new organ and immunosuppression means that his life and habits will be changing, especially during the first 6 months post transplant as his body and the organ graft continue to grow together. We know we will be facing periodic bouts with rejection, illnesses that challenge his immune system, and the continual worry that he will need to be hospitalized. But, just as before, we will face these challenges as they come. We are extremely happy to have his new liver on board and because of an organ donor, Porter will be free of the hyperammonemic crises, and will benefit from a normal diet.