God Sent Us An Angel.

I apologize for leaving you all hanging so long.

Life has gotten in the way these last few months and blogging was put way down on the list. There is never a dull moment around here; which if you've been reading from the beginning, you are well aware of.

Anyway, thank you for coming back and picking up where I abruptly left off.

We were talking about summer 1993, and Ash going home from the hospital after 4 long months, with a troche. 

After nearly a month of staying in Bloomington with my parents, it was time to go back to Faribault and go home. I felt confident at that point in being alone, able to care for Ash. It was myself and my parents that were trained to care for her so with them being in another city, I knew it was going to be tough on me. It was 24/7 care with suctioning, cleaning, and changing Ashley's trache. She was on heated humidity at night, and there was no way I was sleeping behind separate walls. Ashley and her humidity pole, slept with me. 

It was not long after being home I received a call from Mel, a woman that played a huge part in Ashley's young life, successes, and her abilities. Mel ran and owned a daycare in Faribault for special needs kids and for the many, many years, Ashley attended that daycare. I can't quite remember how it all happened or how we got her enrolled, but I remember being grateful and feeling fortunate to not only have this daycare for Ashley, but to have the Wee Cares owner be a registered nurse. Ashley made great strides along with long lasting friendships while attending that daycare. We will forever be thankful for this time in her life, and for the role Mel played in our lives. 

Mel worked overnights for Minneapolis Childrens Homecare and when she would get done with her shift a couple of mornings a week, she would come and take Ashley for a few hours a day, so I could get errands and whatever else done I needed to.

She was a godsend and a life saver.

Mel was, and still is, a big part of Ashley's life. Ashley has literally known her since she was just under a year old. I could not have gotten through that time without Mel and her husband Jerry's help.  

We were home and were living life to the fullest and to the best of our ability.

Ashley was remarkable, though that shouldn't surprise anyone. By this time, she had adjusted to her trache and actually learned how to talk around it. Nothing was going to stop this child from communicating even if it was unlikely that she would. She talked amazingly well around her trache and was pretty proud of herself for doing so.

Ashley got around by scooting on her butt, and by me carrying her.

Everywhere.

I had amazing arm muscles back then all because I carried Ashley for her first 7 years of life. Haha!!!

That summer was spent enjoying Ashley finally being home while doing as many 'fun' things as we could. What I realized was that I would soon be learning how to cope and deal with all of Ashley's medical needs, along with my own needs that were becoming more frequent than ever before.

Sick, moody, and feeling miserable.

What could this have meant? And what was I up against?