Catch Up Time

Charlotte's Flight Crew

Saying "See you later!" to Grandpa Knickerbocker

Charlotte's transportation

She was *slightly* less stressed about the move than I was.

Arranging for Charlotte to get to California was nothing short of an Olympic Event. The social worker at the NICU at NMCSD worked tirelessly for months to arrange everything. We're so grateful that we had someone to help us with the details. Without her, I'd still be in PA.

An ambulance came to pick us up from our house around 7:45 AM EST. We threw all the remaining items in the ambulance, strapped Charlotte down and headed to Philadelphia International Airport. From there, we boarded a jet, staffed with two pilots, a NICU nurse and an ER physician. We stopped once in Kansas for about 20 minutes to refuel. We finally landed in San Diego, at the Marine Corps Air Station. From there, we got on another ambulance and drove to the Naval Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD, the hospital at which Peter works).

Charlotte did really well on the flight. She was pretty entertained the entire time, falling asleep for the last leg of the trip. The staff on the plane was amazing and they went well out of their way to make sure we were both comfortable. The plane was loud, and the temperature varied wildly, but they catered a meal for me and made sure I had plenty to eat and drink.

We then spent a little over two weeks in the PICU, arranging Charlotte's home care needs and supplies. Caleb was a good sport, but he was definitely ready to say goodbye to the hospital room by the time she was discharged. Then he came home and realized we don't have the Disney Channel like the hospital does. Oh well.

We're getting adjusted to life here in San Diego. It mostly consists of cleaning up after the children, buying stock in sunscreen and "lounging" at the pool. I'm trying to convince Charlotte that getting in the water will not, in fact, kill her, but she is rather convinced of this and I think she just might be more stubborn than I am.

Which is a problem. But considering the problems we've faced over the past year and a half, I think we'll keep it.