"There's No Place Like Home" by Meghann Johnson

“There’s no place like home.” It’s been said countless times, but perhaps the most iconic expression of this sentiment goes to Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.

There are innumerable instances where this sentence can hold true. One of the most ubiquitous experiences is returning from a vacation; while the trip was (hopefully) great, it’s still nice to get back to the comfort of our own home. 

I have also uttered this phrase to myself each time after coming home from the hospital. I’ve had so many stays over the years. Some were for one night or a few days, whether due to a surgery or to treat an acute issue. I’ve also had multiple stays that were a couple of weeks long for those good ol’ CF tune-ups. The 3+/- week stays are a bit rarer, but I distinctly remember my first collapsed lung experience in 2007, as well as my mystery eye issue/brain inflammation debacle of 2022. Then there’s the hospital stay during which I received my double lung transplant in 2019; it may have only lasted 12 days, but those were a very significant 12 days! Regardless of the length of stay, there’s nothing more comforting and healing than being able to come home, sleep in my own bed, and be with my family.

This last year brought with it the longest stay away from home yet. Fortunately, it was planned and for an exciting reason! We decided to remodel our house, which, when we moved in 8 years ago, we knew we would eventually get to. We started to get the ball rolling on our project back in October of 2023. As it was a complete home remodel, we knew that we would have to move out for the duration, especially as my lungs would not do well with all of the dust and mess of tearing down and rebuilding. So, at the beginning of February 2024, we moved into an apartment, and we did our best to make it as homey as possible, though we knew it was only temporary. 

During the nine and a half months that we were in our apartment, so much life happened. First of all, I just had to get RSV the weekend we moved in, which resulted in one of those few-day hospital stays that I mentioned above. A few months later, my husband’s dad passed away after years of massive health issues. It wasn’t unexpected, but it was still a life-changing event. Insert another short hospital stay after the first week of this school year (go figure - thanks, Covid).

In addition, our son was very much struggling, both at home and at school. This led to us moving forward with a diagnosis of high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and ADHD. Fortunately, we have been connected to multiple resources, and we have somewhat of a game plan to help him be as successful as he can be in life. With that being said, it’s a lot - it’s a lot of learning and a lot of work for both our son and for us.  It is going to be quite a life-long process, and we are just at the beginning - but we are very hopeful. 

Overall, living in our apartment was nice enough - it just wasn’t home. There was an undercurrent of not being settled. Our son had the most difficulty; change of any kind is very hard for him. As he put it, we “took everything he knew and changed it.” He wasn’t wrong, and even though it was an exciting change, it was still a long wait, full of decisions and circumstances beyond our control. 

We were able to start moving back into our house on November 12th, and it was just in time for the first snow of the season!. Almost everything in our house is new - but when we look out our windows, we see the familiar trees and land that we love. Even though everything is different, it still feels familiar, and we are settling right in. Our son couldn’t wait to decorate for Christmas, so he took it upon himself to make it happen, which helped him with the transition, and now we are all feeling the spirit of the season. Life is still going to bring its challenges, whether health or otherwise, but now we can take them on from a place of feeling settled. As I write this, it is December 1st, and we still have a ways to go until we’re fully moved in, but it is already feeling like home. Our old but new home. Our home. And there truly is no place like it.