No more heparin syringes in my diaper bag!

This afternoon the house is quiet...what a treat! Since the boys are all fast asleep and it's storming outside, I decided to work and clean in the kitchen. I threw in a load of laundry, washed a bunch of Nathanael's toys, and then decided to organize and consolidate medical supplies.

Now, you know that it's been just over two weeks since Nathanael's line-removal surgery, but it just hit me today: I no longer need to carry heparin syringes in my diaper bag! :) This is one more step towards becoming a more "normal" mom. (Please note that the word normal is in quotes... that's on purpose since I know that normalcy is a relative concept.) For me this is a lot like the time following my second surgery in 2002 when I stopped carrying Neurontin and Oxycontin in my purse: I felt "normal" again. (I'm pretty sure most of my friends don't carry narcotics around, just as they don't carry heparin.)

Don't get me wrong. I feel like I had adjusted to our "new normal" and had learned to be prepared, with Central Venous Catheter emergency kits in our cars and in the house, with heparin and saline syringes with me in case I needed to flush Nathanael's lines while waiting to see the doctor. I even carried Duoderm (extra thin skin protectant) and Hypafix (flexible tape) for when he had an NG tube, as those were the most helpful things we found to keep it in place. I'm just thankful that these things are no longer part of our life. (Well, we could possibly use an NG tube again, but unless he gets sick it's not very likely.)

So today I am thankful that the Lord has closed the chapter that included my little boy having tubes in his chest. We still have a long way to go towards recovery - in many ways - but this is progress.

Oh, and do y'all know anyone who needs 27 syringes with 3mLs of 10u/mL heparin? They don't expire until 2012.