I went to look at the robin's nest today and found one large baby bird in it, which flew away as I got closer. That didn't take long. They are all gone now. I'm hoping it's a good omen. The nest has served it's purpose and the baby birds can do without it now.

I'm hoping another much larger nest will have fulfilled it's purpose soon. In some ways, I think the homestretch of Quinn's time in hospital is harder than the beginning. At that point, we just accepted it would be a long time before we would be taking him home, and still even had thoughts of whether that would happen at all. But now that we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, I find myself getting more impatient. Things that still need to happen are: he needs to come down on his oxygen flow rate, and he needs to not be tube-fed. The oxygen flow rate is currently 4 liters/minute. It needs to be 1 liter/minute to come home. And I think we are getting close to the point where Quinn can start actually feeding rather than being fed. I'm going down tomorrow morning and will hopefully try to nurse him then. It's a very strange concept that it's been more than 2 months and I personally haven't fed him. But then, there are a lot of strange concepts going on here.

There is one thing I'm trying not to get excited about. Kurt said during rounds this morning, there was talk of getting the ophthalmologist to come back this week and check on Quinn, rather than next week, and then he can transfer, and by the time Quinn might need another check-up with him, he would very likely be home, and we can do this on an outpatient basis. The hospital really is trying to work with us, wonder of wonders. Either that, or they are anxious to get rid of me. I accept that as a possibility. Okay, I'm going to redirect my thoughts to a more positive light than I have the last few days. I feel like all I've been doing is coming on here and spewing out everything that is driving me up the wall. I'm not sure if that was truly therapeutic or not. But I think it is good to have it preserved none the less.

1. I'm grateful I have kept a record of this tumultuous time.
2. I'm grateful Quinn improves daily.
3. I'm grateful summer is here, despite the heat.
4. I'm grateful for all those who have given so much service to our family in the last few months.
5. I'm grateful I'm grateful to know there are so many still praying for us and for Quinn.