March 17th, 2009

Rejoice in the day the Lord has made and be glad in it!! Dave has been moved out of the ICU!! YES!! I am soooooo happy and so is he!!!!!!!! He had such a great day today, his mental state is so great right now and he is so ready to move on to the next stage of his life. The medical team seems to think he will be released from the hospital next Monday or Tuesday, and he is more then ready. We had such a great day today, I can't even put into words the wonderful day we had together. He walked around the unit a couple of times today and then Julie came in and took him for a field trip in the wheel chair so he could go outside. He loved going outside and getting fresh air, and he almost cried while we were out there that is how good it felt to him.

Once we got back from our outings I pulled my chair up to his bed and started chit chatting with him to help him get his mind off the waiting for his new room. Boy the Lord took over at that point in the day, let me tell you. For the next 4 hours there was some heavy conversation between that boy and me, and some memories were made that I will never forget. We talked and talked about things and life and just wonderful stuff. I was once again reminded of how special he is and how great his life has been and how blessed I have been to be a part of it. We both really shared hopes, fears, dreams, and funny stories. I put some stuff out there for him and he did the same for me and I think that we both are really going to grow from today. It was such a special day, one that I will hold forever in my heart.

I just talked to him, from his own room I might add, and he was so happy tonight. He is such a survivor, a strong believer in Christ, and just a great person. I am so proud of him and who he has become in this world and how tough he has been through all of this. I also have to say how proud I am of my husband for raising such a fine young man and being the father he has been to David and doing it by himself for the most part for the early years of Davids life. He is also a survivor of sorts himself, first by being a single father, and now by having to deal with his son almost dying. Doug has had to be a single father once again these past few months as well as handle the emotions of dealing with a dying son and he has done it with such dignity and humility. He is such a strong wonderful man, and I am so proud that he is my husband and father of my children.

Below are a few pictures that my mother in law took when she was here visiting this past weekend as well as some that I took today when we were out on our field trip in the wheel chair. The pretty lady in the pictures with David is our wonderful friend, Julie, she has been SO wonderful through this journey. I will truly miss her, and Dave told me today he will as well. Also the mask he is wearing is what he will have to wear outside of the hotel or hospital for the next 3 months to protect him from germs and spores in the air. The nurses are working on getting him a different color, but for today all they had was pink. He didn't care, he just wanted to go outside!

Also, he does have his own phone in his private room, but we are only giving it out to select people, so please be respectful of that. He still is having the problem with his tongue so it is hard for him to talk, so if you do get his phone # please remember that and don't keep him on the phone for long.

This is David's incision, one of them anyways, he also has one on the side where they put in the pump a month ago, but this is the heart transplant incision. It goes up about 3 more inches but this is a pretty good picture. I told him it will probably disappear by the time he is 25 or 30.

David sporting his "Darth" mask outside for the first time since the surgery. He loved being out in the fresh air and it was such a beautiful day.

I took this picture just as we got outside, I loved this picture of him just kicking back and really enjoying the outside and taking in all the outside air. He was in a state of bliss, and looked so relaxed right here.

Julie is telling him to take it slow here, he wanted to take a walk up a little hill and she was letting him know why that might not be such a good idea! He loves her so much, he really does. She has been so fabulous to us, I am going to miss her, have I mentioned that?? :)

Typical Dave, no smile.... HAHA, we were both taken a little off guard here, but it was a sweet picture. I can't wait to take this boy home! We were making all sorts of plans today!!