Waverly's Weekend

Since Waverly & Oliver's diagnosis, I have spent a lot of time thinking about all of the "they will never..." scenarios.  I shed a lot of tears.  This past weekend Waverly proved me wrong.  I never thought she would have a weekend away with friends - a sleepover adventure.  And then we found Jill's House.

We had signed up for a weekend of respite months ago.  However, when Friday arrived I was so nervous to drop her off with strangers for 48 hours.  We pulled up Friday after dinner and I questioned whether we were doing the right thing.  And then we walked into the front door of Jill's House and all of my fears were removed.  We had a warm greeting by members of the staff.  We said our goodbyes to Waverly and off she went.  A Dingo for the weekend in Pod 2.  We had to fill out some additional paperwork and met with the nurse to go over her care plan.  I was thoroughly impressed with the plan they put together for Waverly.  All of the information I had given them in the months previous during interviews and our tour, was all organized before me.  All of the pertinent information was there - bathroom routines, feeding issues, choking hazard, mobility issues, etc.  The staff had read over the information and were well versed in Waverly even before we arrived.  I was confident that she was going to be well taken care of.

Before we left for the weekend, one of the staff members handed me a photo in a magnet frame.  It was the staff of Jill's House wearing purple ribbons on MPS Awareness Day in honor of Waverly & Oliver.  How amazing is that?!?!

I was emailed a photo of Wavey late Friday night by the night nurse.  It was a picture of Waverly and one of her buddies with a message that she was doing well.  I also had a call the next day letting me know that she was having a wonderful time and really enjoyed the field trip to the horse farm.  Sunday night when we went to pick her up, we were so excited to be reunited.  Oliver and I were on the play ground waiting.  Waverly was brought into the lobby and ran into Matt's arms full of giggles and smiles. It was evident that she had a blast, but was very excited to see her family again.

I am so thankful that Waverly had the opportunity to have a weekend of adventure.  An experience that I never thought she would have.  A HUGE thank you to the staff at Jill's House, for taking such good care of my little girl.

You can read more about Jill's House HERE.  If possible, please consider giving a tax free donation to them, in honor of Waverly.