After Nikki returned to Daytona for work, the hospital was kind enough to put me and McKenzie on the 11th floor, it was the first time Nikki and I had ever spent any time apart and while it wasn't home, the room was comfortable as I was finally able to eat, sleep and shower while still being with McKenzie.McKenzie spent ten days in the ICU and NICU, the doctors and nurses were amazing with us and her, but that didn't change the pit of my stomach from turning into knots. I never imagined the amount of love I would develop over the next several days as we very helplessly waited for any news on McKenzie's health or discharge possibilities. We never imagined dealing with amount of emotions we were now dealing with.
Eventually one machine after another were being disconnected; every day a new doctor or therapist would meet with us and overload our minds with information - McKenzie no doubt had the best of the best looking out for her and her future and while we were completely exhausted and overloaded with information - we were beyond thankful for those involved in the care for McKenzie. On Sunday, July 16th McKenzie was discharged.
Bringing McKenzie home was a dream come true; she was sleeping so peacefully the entire ride and proved to be just as perfect as we had always imagined. We've been home for two weeks today and things have been amazing but challenging. McKenzie sleeps through the night, but often turns blue. I have found myself laying in bed watching her bassinet to make sure shes still breathing. During the day she won't take much from the bottle and so we changed her formula. It's hard bringing home a baby, but its really a challenge bringing home a baby with a heart defect and down syndrome. McKenzie has opened our eyes to an entire new world- a world full of endless opportunities and love like none other. While we have a long, busy road ahead for the health of McKenzie - we will continue to keep our faith that not only her development progresses well but her heart surgery is successful and her recovery is quick.
It feels like just yesterday we received the down syndrome diagnosis, foolishly we allowed it to completely alter our lives for months. When we saw McKenzie, we saw our daughter; we didn't see down syndrome or heart defects - we saw our beautiful, god given angel. It was in this moment we realized the meaning behind our journey wasn't to cause us struggle but to create an undeniable strength full of acceptance, patience and above all else; love.
