The bags were packed.
The kitchen cleaned out.
The moving boxes were filled and taped shut.

Our home of the past 13 months has been DeJohnsonficated.

Now all that was needed was the back breaking task of moving the Johnson's accumulated belongings down eight flights of stairs and past two sets of glass doors to the moving pods located in the parking lot of the apartment complex. This labor task force was made up of the following people:

Brian. That is all.

Okay so maybe I exagerrated a little as Deanna did most of the packing.   I used the elevator and perhaps had a few hands helping me in the process but at the end of the day I was still pretty tired. The moving pods are certainly a great way of transporting one's belongings from Point A to Point B. The only problem is guessing just how many pods you actually need. In our circumstance, we needed 1 1/8 pods. We certainly had enough stuff to pack into one pod but just a few boxes in the other. Apparently the pod industry doesn't provide half sizes like the shoe industry.

So here is where we stand. Deanna is now back in our house in Severna Park, MD with both Aidan and Maddie (and of course her parental labor task force Chris & Bob). The pods have arrived at their terminal in Maryland and awaiting the final destination to our house. Deanna will have the much easier job of unpacking the pods (note: no elevator, no glass doors) and putting all of our stuff away. I, on the other hand, have the fun job of hanging with Zachary until he is officially discharged and flown to BWI. In the interim I will work up a sweat by cleaning the apartment, turning in the keys and finishing the kitchen cupboard's last box of macroni and cheese.

We haven't quite closed the book on our time in Pittsburgh but it probably fair to say that we are on the final pages of the last chapter. Zachary's date of discharge is still a moving target but certainly one that is closing in on us. These days of Pittsburgh living are numbered. The end of this era is coming to a close.

This two year ordeal with Zachary was something that we wanted to share with everyone who has faced a similar circumstance of spending time in a hospital. Zachary's complex and emotional experiences was of course one that inspired many a journal entry. I'm happy to announce that several of these blogs have now been integrated into a complete storyline covering Zachary's life in book form. At around 200 pages, this book titled "A View From Bed 15" has been written (and rewritten) over the past several months and will be officially finished upon Zachary's discharge from The Children's Home.

It will take a few weeks for the editing to be completely finished. At that time (possibly sooner) I will post a link on this site to those interested in obtaining the book. In the meantime, I will continue posting journal entries with my usual sarcasm and odd perspectives of hospital life. Deanna and I appreciate all of your interest and support for Zachary's journey and look forward to a day when this is all a distant memory in our rear view mirror.

Brian & Deanna
johnjoss22@msn.com
301 S Highland Ave #804
Pittsburgh, PA 15206