Cincinnati 2012 - Zoo, Friends & Flight Home

After being discharged from the hospital following the impedance probe test we made it over to the Cincinnati Zoo.  I'd heard that it is one of the top zoos in the country so I was excited to see it. The hospital gives free tickets to the families of kids. We were only able to be there for a couple hours but still saw most of it.

The historic entrance.

Ainsley checking out one of the elephants.

They have this cool pond with fountain in the center....

....and a train track around it.

I was excited to see some animals I hadn't seen before.

King Penguins.

Polar Bears.

Rhinoceros. It was fascinating to watch it move.

Manatees.

The lions roared for us. Ainsley wasn't sure what to think of that.

Ainsley had fun pressing a penny souvenir.

Us at the rino statues waiting for our shuttle van. It was a hot sunny day.

We met up with my friend Claudia  (from the Tracheostomy.com forum) and her lovely kids for dinner at the hotel restaurant. It was so nice to meet them in person.

Her beautiful daughter Sienna, who was decannulated years ago. She is 6 months younger than Ainsley. Ainsley was a bit fascinated by her and seemed really happy to sit with her and color.

Speaking of friends I forgot to mention that Hope, a blog reader, recognized me while we were at the hospital and stopped me in the halls to introduce herself. It was the first time I'd been recognized out in public like that so I was more than a little surprised. I was so glad she stopped to say hi, I just wish we'd had a chance to chat a bit longer. She is a fellow blog writer and her daughter Ava has mitrochondrial disease and is also a patient of Dr. Cotton. Lucky them, not to have to travel thousands of miles to see him. 

We skyped with the family. Ainsley loved it!

Sheryl and Ainsley slept while I packed up and finished my blog post. Unfortunately Ainsley desatted so much I had to turn off the pulse-ox. I'm hoping she's still recovering from that triple scope. She ought to breathe easier with the larger trach while she sleeps. I'll be keeping a close eye on her.

We got up at 5am. Ugh! Things went smoothly on our way to the airport and we were there plenty early this time. 

On the flight Ainsley was STILL fascinated with the trays. And she learned to take pictures during the flight.

The mountains back in Washington. Home at last. Interestingly did you know that the flight East is nearly an hour faster than the flight West? It has to do with fighting against the wind current.

It was exhausting to keep her entertained for 4 hours.  I tried to get her to nap but of course she didn't fall asleep until we landed. Figures.

She was really glad to get home to her Calico Critters, hammock and other things.

Evie and Adrian made us a special sign. It's nice to be so loved and missed. It's good to be home.