Our Little Hero

𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 | "𝐰𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝗼𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝗼𝗺𝐞, 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐲"

Callie's first round of chemo seemed to take ages to complete. It wasn't really that long, however being cooped up inside of a hospital room for weeks at a time, wasn't much fun. Even time seemed to pass by ridiculously slowly while they were there. However, one day, it all came to a halt, well, for the time being, that was. It was finally discharge day. 

The oncologist met with Jay and Hailey that morning, to discuss the plan for the future. "She's going home today, they'll be in soon with the discharge papers. Right now, our main focus is the treatment. So, we're going to give her the weekend to get used to being back at home, and to rest up some. On Monday, she'll go into the clinic for her chemo treatment there. It'll still be through her port, just like it has been. She'll need to go to the clinic Monday through Friday during the second round of treatment, but after each treatment, she'll get to go home. After the round finishes, we'll do an MRI and run her labs, to make sure they are headed in the correct direction. Then we'll move forward for round three." The oncologist told the two parents, as both of them listened intently. Once the oncologist had finished, he said his goodbyes to Hailey, Jay, and young Callie, before heading to finish up his morning rounds with his other patients.

After about another hour, one of the nurses ventured into Callie's hospital room with the packet of discharge papers for Hailey or Jay to fill out, along with a few sheets of paper located inside of a folder, which basically reiterated what Callie's oncologist had told the two. Hailey filled out Caroline's discharge papers, while Jay packed up their things, and Callie dressed herself to leave the hospital. Soon enough, one of the members of the transport team had arrived with a wheelchair to take Callie down to the lobby, and then to the car, which was the hospital's policy for all discharges. Jay left right before them, to go get the car to bring it around, while Hailey stayed back with Callie, and headed down with the four year old. Once they got to the lobby, Jay was parked right out front. He helped Callie into the car, and buckled her up in her car seat, before thanking the man, and getting back into the drivers seat, and pulled out of the hospital parking lot, and drove the three of them home. 

After thirty days inpatient at the hospital, Callie was finally going home. 

After a nice, peaceful drive, Hailey, Jay, and Callie arrived back at their house. Jay pulled into the garage, and parked the car. He shut off the car, and then helped Callie out, before taking the bags inside the house. Kim was there, watching over baby Cosette, who was nearing the age of two months. Jay closed the door after the three of them had entered the house. Callie made her way towards the living room, eager to finally see her baby sister again, in person, that is. Callie had plenty of FaceTime calls with Cosy while she was gone, but nothing beat seeing her sister in person. "Thank you again, Kim. We really appreciate all you've done for us over the last month" Jay told his coworker. "It was no problem, really. I'm glad I could help you both out, and I'm so glad you're finally home, Callie" Kim said, giving the four year old a cheery smile, as the four year old returned the favor of a smile.

Once Kim had gone, Callie's clothes, toys, and other items, along with Jay's, had been put away, where they belonged. Callie had been seated on the couch, admiring her baby sister in all her glory, and watching and observing when Hailey had to feed the baby. "Can I hold her mama? Or will I get her sick?" The four year old girl asked. Hailey looked down at her oldest daughter, seated right beside her. "Of course you can hold her, baby. You won't get her sick, you can't pass your cancer to Cosy, I promise. You're more than able to hold her for a little bit. Just grab the pillow beside you" Hailey told her, as Callie gave her a nod, and grabbed the pillow located on the opposite side of her. Callie placed the pillow on her lap, as she waited for her mother to place the baby on the pillow.

When Callie held Cosette, it was as if everything was back to normal. Back to the way it was, before cancer. Of course, though, the Halstead family was readjusting to their new "normal", which meant having to reintroduce the siblings to one another. Since Cosette was so young, the reappearance of her big sister had no effect on her. Callie gently gave the two month old a kiss on her forehead, and smiled as she held the baby.

After ten or fifteen minutes, Callie had declared that she was finished holding Cosette. Hailey took the baby back, before passing her off to Jay for a little while. Jay held his youngest daughter closely, also ecstatic to be back home with his newest baby.

While it was exciting and such a wonderful moment to have everyone under the same roof once again, they knew how quickly things could change. At the first sign of sickness, or even a slight fever, Jay or Hailey were to take Callie to the Emergency Room. While this doesn't seem "emergent" in most cases, in Callie's case, it normally wasn't good. Children with cancer, Callie included, had little to no immune system. Which meant they could get sick insanely easy, and a simple common cold could be detrimental to them. That being said, Jay and Hailey had determined themselves to keep Callie home as much as possible, and limit visitors they would have. 

For now, though, the parents were just happy to be able to breathe a bit better. They could each sleep in their nice, warm, beds, and be with one another all of the time. Callie had even been a tad bit perkier, since they'd arrived home that afternoon. Jay and Hailey hadn't seen much of Callie's typical self while she was hospitalized, but it seemed to be coming back to her. They just hoped it would stay that way, for quite a while. But would it?