Long post. Sorry, not sorry.

Well, most of you already know that Brent came home today. The final decision was to send him home on the two IV antibiotics for six weeks. He will have regular blood cultures and echos to check the heart valve.

We are happy to be home. Real food. Real bed. Less worry about viral germs.

That being said, our anxiety levels are through the roof. All of the what if’s. No button to push should something go wrong. This happens every time. So, as happy as we are to be home, it presents a whole different set of emotions and fears. I’m extremely happy to not have to drive the freeway mess through Lehi twice a day.

So, a little question and answer session for you because I get asked these things all the time.

* Does Brent eat real food?  Yes, he does. Brent only has about two feet of his small intestine left and about half of his colon. Most of the nutrients in what he eats does not get absorbed due to the lack of intestine. He eats because it keeps his liver happy. Most of Brents nutrition comes form TPN which is a pinpointed formula just for him that gets infused through a central line for 11 hours every night. We are truly thankful for modern medicine. There was a year where Brent could not eat or drink anything at all. That was followed by another year of eating only homemade soup that we puréed and put through two strainers. Now he can eat normal food with some restrictions.

* Is this all because of Crohn’s Disease?  Ultimately, yes. After a routine bowel resection surgery 14 years ago, Brents intestine ruptured, which lead to at least a dozen more abdominal surgeries to repair the damage. Thus, the lack of intestine.

* Can he have a transplant? Well, yes, they do intestinal transplants. They are extremely risky and the mortality rate is not good. We have met with a transplant team at UCLA and he is in their records. He is not on a transplant list. There a few things that qualifies one for an intestinal transplant. Lack of IV access for TPN. Liver failure (TPN is exptremely harsh on the liver.) almost all intestinal transplants are combined with a liver transplant. We would have to live in L.A. for a year. This is not a cure for Crohn’s Disease either. He would still have Crohn’s but with a new heathy gut. This transplant can only come from an organ donor who has died. Interestingly, a live donor can donate to a child needing a transplant.

* why does Brent keep defying all odds and making a comeback? Ok, this is a question we ask ourselves, not a question you have asked us. We honestly do not have an answer to that. We are in awe of the number of times he has been so very close to death, but truly miraculously came back to us. We recognize the hand of God in all things. We recognize that our family has had an over abundance of blessings and innumerable real life miracles over the past 14 years. Perhaps not the miracle or blessing that we hoped for and fervently prayed for but miracles nonetheless. Re recognize them each day and give thanks for another day. We also know that we are no more deserving of these blessings than anyone of you. Our hearts hurt when we think about our family and friends who have lost their loved ones to various circumstances. Why weren’t their loved ones spared pain and suffering and the sting of death? They are so loved and also had so much still to accomplish and offer in this life. They are no less worthy or deserving than we are. We truly wish we could answer this question. It is one of those questions that sometimes haunts us. We just have to trust in the Lord and know that these questions will be addressed and answered some day.

We love you and are so indebted to so many. You will never know how much we pray for you and pray that you, too, are being blessed for your service and love and prayers in our behalf. We are definitely not out of the woods, but we are home.