Thur. 10/23 - update

The Land of the Living has returned. Last night was really tough!! I got sick the same time Reagan did, and Caed has been struggling with it the last couple of days. Everyone was miserable at the same time. ugghhh! My mom decided to bunk in with us last night so she could help if I got really sick and couldn't do night duty for Reagan & Caed. I was up literally every hour with Reagan and Caed both. (but by that time, I was doing better, so it wasn't too hard other than just being exhausted) This morning, Reagan and I could really see improvement. Caed however, was still not doing well.

I guess I should back up...........Tues. night (when my mom was still sick and I had all 3 kids), Caed began really hurting and having lots of diarrhea. (14-16x day) I could tell he had some fever, but I didn't have a thermometer. When Caed gets fevers.....it's a scary thing. (sign of possible line infection, which is NOT GOOD!!!) It was almost 10pm and I was frantic. I had to find a thermometer! I had given him some Tylenol, but I was more worried about the middle of the night and it getting really high. I loaded all the kids up (put Caed in the stroller and just carried Caleb) and searched this hospital over. You would think that would be an easy thing to get a hold of here. Finally, I went up to Labor and Delivery and with tears in my eyes, begged one of the nurses to please check Caed's temp. It was almost 101 then. Again, it was great to get an exact number, but it didn't solve my dilemma. I just went back to the room, called Todd and did lots of praying through the night. I even set my alarm (in the rare case he slept longer than 4 hrs.) to give him more Tylenol. That was my 2nd 'all-nighter'. That next morning, we went down to the lab to draw cultures from his line to check for infection. So far, all is clear!!! Praise God! This was a huge concern. We drew labs again today as well. They said everything looks ok. His CO2 level is a little low, but understandable. His magnesium was also low, but again considering....they are not worried. The drs. basically told me that more than likely he just has this 'junk' that we all have had. The only problem is it affects him harder. An intestinal bug is hard enough on us normal folk, but with someone with all the issues he has, it's really rough. You know, a few days ago I was praying that he wouldn't get this. However, I found myself yesterday praying he DID have it! (a stomach bug would eventually go away) Caed never threw up (opposite from the 4 of us), but he mainly has had pretty intense pains, severe diarrhea, and low grade fever. Last night about 2:30am, Reagan and Caed both got sick at the same time. Caed was on the potty crying and Reagan was bent over the trashcan. We had a pretty major moment. ha! For the first time since all this began, Caed was witnessing someone else sick. He got really quiet and his eyes were so big. I kept trying to reassure him that this sickness was not just HIM! That we ALL had it and we ALL were throwing up, etc... I think it finally hit him when he saw Reagan. I know this sounds bizarre, but it was really good for him to see that. For the last 8 months it's all been about him throwing up and being sick. He has been doing so well for several months now, and I know it was really frustrating to get sick again. I truly think it helped relax him a little.

We have started Vanco again. His stool sample has not come back yet, but they are checking for more c-diff. Brandi told me it is very likely it has resurfaced because of this virus going around. We stopped his feeds quite a bit the last 2 days just to give his little body a break. We also stopped the Imodium thinking it might even be making it worse (cramping).

I ran to WalMart this afternoon, and when I came back you could just see such a change in Caed. He really was acting more like his self with more energy and less crying. The potty times are still quite frequent, but at least he is not in severe pain when he goes now. Tonight as we were getting ready for bed, he started crying again with tummy pains, but it didn't last too long. I think it's going to just take him a little longer to get over all this than for the rest of us.

We have re-scheduled my mom's flight AGAIN (for the 3rd time)! Kendell bless you! You have been such a blessing throughout all this especially. (she works for Southwest and has helped us out tremendously with all the booking and changing of flights, etc....) My mom and Caleb will (Lord willing...ha!) fly out tomorrow. I hate so much all that we have had to go through this week, BUT.....I did get an extra 3 days with him! I wouldn't trade anything for that. I begin to get really sad again thinking about him not being here, but now in my head, I can picture him, and I also know it won't be too terribly long until we see him again!

THANK YOU SO MUCH for praying for us! I know this sickness is going around everywhere. No matter who you are or what the circumstance, it's not fun. The good thing is that it doesn't last very long. (unless you're "Gut Boy!") Please continue to pray for him in this area specifically. I'm sure he will have lost more weight this week again because of all this. Just makes you feel like 2 steps forward....3 steps back!



Caed stayed in bed a lot the last few days



Then.....look what I see when I walk into the room
this afternoon! (with Nana babysitting) ha! I think
we are feeling better!!!