All together now

BY NADINE ARMSTRONG

The Hants Journal

NovaNewsNow.com

Baby Zachary Carson, whose challenging start to life has figured prominently in The Hants Journal, returned home for good Dec. 21 after weeks in hospital.

For his mother Joan, it also meant sleeping finally in her own bed. “The last night at the Ronald McDonald House, the girls (two daughters) came down and all of us slept together with Zachary in the cot,” she said. “It was the first time we were all together.” The pair of big sisters is pleased to have a little brother at home to play with, but as Trevor and Joan explained, there are many precautions that make being home a bit of a trial as well.

“We’re all house-bound,” Trevor said, and that’s the way it’ll be for a while. The risk of infection for Zachary is still very high, meaning the girls had to wear masks when they came down with a cold and visitors to the Carson home are limited.

“We didn’t see many people over Christmas,” Joan said. “We really couldn’t go anywhere or have company in.” And come warmer weather, there will be a whole new batch of possible allergens the Carsons will need to watch out for as well.

Zachary still needs to visit the pediatrician who diagnosed him, Dr. Nash, once a week and he has returned to the IWK for a few days due to infection. But the long days and nights apart are finally over for this family.

“When they told me I could take him home I was, ‘Wow!’ I just couldn’t believe it,” Joan said.