Sick Again!

It's seems to be the story of our life these days...

After enjoying 2 or so WONDERFUL weeks of good health, sickness has come to our house yet again. (Warning - This is a long post about how our week of sickness/hospital stay came to pass.)

It started last Friday with Forrest. He was a little congested - frustrating for him but one of those little colds that you really can't do anything about. We went on about our weekend - a birthday party Saturday morning, seeing the Bulldogs play Saturday afternoon for Wilson and me (along with some nice adult conversation!) and a play day at May-May and Bubby's for the boys. I kept Forrest home from church Sunday morning but Wilson and Andrew went on and were great. But when Andrew woke from his nap that afternoon he was coughing. I commented to Wilson that Andrew must have caught Forrest's cold. Well, Monday morning, after a terrible night's sleep, Andrew was coughing more but still talking and playing. He began to get worse though, and at about 10:00 we gave him a breathing treatment because we could hear a little wheezing. He was breathing better for a little while, but he soon was having trouble again. The breathing treatments should be spaced at least 4 hours apart, but by noon, only 2 hours later, Andrew was wheezing again - and BAD! We had called after the 1st breathing treatment and made him a doctor's appt. with his allergy/asthma doctor - and boy, was I glad we had made it! Wilson had gone to work but was going to come home about 1:00 to pick up Andrew for the doctor - I was going to keep Forrest, still congested, at home. Andrew's wheezing scared me terribly - it's awful seeing your baby having such a hard time getting a good breath - and I probably called/texted Wilson 10 times within the hour. (Wilson has always had asthma/allergy issues himself and knows how to handle this with Andrew - i'm always at a loss as to what to do.) Wilson got home and agreed that Andrew did need a treatment. We gave him one and then they left for the doctor.

Wilson calls me from the doctor to report that after another breathing treatment and oral steriod, Andrew is still not doing good. The doctor sent them for a chest x-ray suspecting pneumonia! I begin praying that this would not be the case and worrying about my sweet boy. Later, Wilson calls... the chest x-ray didn't show anything but Andrew's oxygen levels are still low, he isn't responding to yet another breathing treatment, and he's very lethargic. (wilson later tells me how pitiful andrew was. :( - poor thing.) The doctor still thinks it could be an early case of pneumonia and thinks we should go to the hospital. As much as we hated to take Andrew to the hospital, the Lord gave me a total peace about it. I knew that was the best place for him. I would have been on pins and needles had we been at home watching him struggling to breathe all night.

So, we had a 2 night stay at UMC children's hospital. After IV antibiotics, fluids, around-the-clock breathing treatments, and oxygen, Andrew was much improved by Tuesday night. They treated him as a pneumonia patient although it was never clearly diagnosed - 2 more x-rays still came back clear but his symptoms were that of pneumonia.

Thank you to everyone for your prayers!! We really felt them and were so thankful how quickly Andrew responded to the meds. They sent us home on lots of meds but we were so glad to be at home! Andrew still has a yucky cough but is overall much better. Of course, Forrest hated to miss out on all the excitement. After being up all night with him Thursday night, I knew something wasn't right - Forrest is my baby who sleeps! I took him to the doctor only to find BOTH ears were infected - just what I suspected. We are a little tired - no, ALOT tired - but happy that these illnesses can be treated and thankful to have our babies home with us.

We had to take a few pictures of our hospital stay to document the time there...

Once Andrew was able to be off of oxygen Tuesday afternoon, we could walk around the 4C block and pull him in the wagon. He LOVES going on wagon rides (we have the same on at home) so this was really a lifesaver!

This picture is a little blurry, but can you see the smile on Andrew's face? Poor, sweet boy... he truly made the best of it. He made friends with all the nurses & staff, as well as other patients on the floor. Andrew's nurses couldn't believe how well he did with his IV. He was such a big boy about all of his treatments. We were very proud of him.

Yea! We're going home!!

Never would I have thought that we would have made 2 trips to the 4th floor of the Children's Hospital within 6 months (remember Forrest's stay)! Since being a mom, I've heard a wise thought from older moms at my Bible study - be thankful for those long, routine days at home with little ones... even though they sometimes are hard, those days mean that for the most part everyone is well and happy. Be thankful for those days of good health and not having greater struggles. We are so anxious for good health and routine now!