Tuesday was a very busy day for us. We moved Piper back to New Jersey in the morning. The move seemed to go pretty smoothly. Piper was still in a good mood, even after they completed all of the intake pestering. Later in the evening, we picked up Reagan’s parents from the airport.

Wednesday, when we visited Piper, she was sleeping when we arrived. When she woke up, she puked right away. Poor little squirt. But once we got her cleaned off and everything, she eventually livened right up, and we had a really fun time hanging out with her.

Inspecting Grandma’s chin:

Inspecting Grandpa’s ear:

Go here for a couple more photos.

We found out this morning that Piper will be going back to NJ on Tuesday. We knew that she was next on the list, for a couple of weeks now. But I was secretly hoping that she wouldn’t go back until after the holidays, and everything. She has been at Blythedale for a long time now, and it really does feel like home.

I’m trying very hard to be optimistic. Last time Piper was transferred to this place in NJ, it got off to a bad start, which kind of set the tone for the remainder of her stay there. Eventually she developed bi-lateral pneumonia, spent some time in the ICU and ended up back in Westchester.

But, in fairness, Piper had a rough first round at Blythedale, too. We kicked and screamed for her not to go back there, then ultimately ended up completely falling in love with the place. It is mostly because of the wonderful wonderful people who take care of Piper while she is there.

So, it’s possible that Piper’s second round at Wanaque (the place in NJ), will pan out to be equally good for Piper. It is just a little hard to feel like that right now, since anxiety levels are pretty much off the chart. Change of venue, has always been a tough thing for Piper (and us). Keep your fingers crossed for the little squirt. I will update as things progress.

Phew. Today was a big day for Piper (and for us). The move went fairly smooth. There was an issue during transport, that caused her to be in a lot of distress when we initially arrived at the new hospital. We were getting kind of worried for a while, because her heart rate was staying so high, and she was visibly working very hard to breathe.  Eventually she did calm down, and seemed to be acting like her normal self again by this afternoon. So far, all of the people we have met at the new place have been very kind. They seem to like Piper, also. I hope that they bond with her the way that her previous nurses have, so that we can have that extra level of comfort while entrusting her in their care. Distance-wise, it is about the same as going to Blythedale. It will be a bit more expensive paying the $8 toll over the GW each time. On the upside, there in an Ikea, and 2 malls in between. Actually, those factors will probably make the commute even more expensive, hahahah.  The photo below is after Piper was able to calm down and start playing again, like the cute little monkey that she is. We greatly appreciate all of the thoughts and prayers for Piper in connection with her latest transition. We have felt an incredible amount of support, and I’m sure that she has too.

I recieved a call from Piper’s social worker today. Barring any unforeseen kinks, Piper will be moving to New Jersey next Wednesday the 15th of April. I have a lot of mixed emotions about this transition. On one hand, we are really going to miss all of the people who we have come to know and have befriended at Blythedale. On the other hand, this feels like a step towards normalcy, being the place she is going, is a long term facility. Keep your fingers crossed for the little squirt, that she handles the transition smoothly.

Reagan informed me that during her visit with Piper today, she found out that Piper will most likely be moving to a long term care facility in NJ, in the coming weeks. I still don’t know how I feel about it. It isn’t like we didn’t know it was coming. It is also really good news that she will be going to NJ, instead of Smithtown, in Long Island. I’m sure that Reagan will give more details when she writes about it. Anyway, it got me to thinking about what the transition might be like.  I was looking at some of the old pictures of Piper, and it is strange how just seeing them brought back memories of so much fear, worry and stress. It really is amazing how far along Piper has come. I love that little girl, like crazy.

I know that I have been complaining about moving and apartment shopping, a lot. So, I apologize. I feel like it is all being compounded by how crazy work has been, though. In addition to finding new digs, we are looking for someone cool to take our spot. Our current building manager is really cool, and is willing to waive application fees and extend a below market rate, rental price to anyone that we refer as a new tenant for our place. So, if you, or someone that you know might be interested in our place, get in touch with me. If you need an independent reference about what a great apartment it is, Take Maya’s word for it.

The upside to living at my desk (again) is that I have such a wide variety of options for dinner every night. Reagan told me that she was having pizza today for lunch. It sounded so good when she told me, that I pretty much decided right then, I was going to have it for dinner. It was delicious, and I can feel it making me fatter as I’m sitting here typing this.

The apartment hunt has come to a stalemate. Reagan and I found a place that we really like. We submitted an application, only to find out that the deal, as advertised, was not exactly what it appeared to be. Yep, we got sucked into the ‘ol bait and switch. We really do like the apartment though. So we are currently in aggressive negotiations to get a deal we are comfortable with, on the place. Who knows if it will pan out. I’m kind of hoping that it does. Because frankly, I’m tired of looking. Plus, I suddenly have zero time to look.  Anyway, cross your fingers for us, that our offer will be accepted.

Yesterday was my first day back to work, after all of my time off. I can already say that I wish I was back on vacation, hahahaha. I guess that it doesn’t help, that I came back to a headache of a deal, with a bunch of super stressed out (rightly so) people. I would probably still be there (instead of working from home), if the Toyota service center didn’t close at 9.

Anyway, I wish that I could get back to the Atlanta Police station in the pic. It is actually no longer used as a police station, but as a Music studio. Reagan’s sister and brother-in-law rent a space there to practice. We had a really fun jam session there, while Reagan and I were visiting, over Christmas weekend.

Alas, I couldn’t put off working and apartment shopping forever.