Last Monday (3/2), Ellie started getting sick with her feeds. It was soon followed by loose stool - which made her poor bottom VERY sore. She got to the point where she needed a diaper change at least every hour... and was still getting sick. By the end of the week, they had decided to hold her feeds, get an IV in and just run continuous IV fluids to give her bowels a rest and to keep her from getting further dehydrated. Getting an IV into this kid is a whole other battle and long story, but that's what they needed to do. On Friday morning, Ellie looked like a wreck and looking into her eyes made me sad. You know how kids just look so pitiful when they're sick?? When all was said and done, Ellie had viral gastroenteritis (a GI bug), pink eye, and an upper respiratory infection. Fantastic. Friday night, our boys were down here, but knowing we couldn't expose them to all that Ellie had, we brought them straight over to the Ronald McDonald House for the weekend. Saturday morning, I woke up with a scratchy throat and I realized that I'd left all of our bathroom stuff in Ellie's room, so I loaded up the boys (B was at work) and we wore masks to pop into Ellie's room quick. They were excited to see her - but I made sure the visit was quick and we all wore masks to try to keep from spreading this yuck.
With such frequent diaper changes, leg warmers were a much better
choice than pants for Ellie. Flashback to the 80's anyone??
We then headed north to attend our friends', the Skinners, vow renewal. The ceremony and reception were so much fun. Before heading home that night, we stopped by my parents' house to celebrate my brother's birthday. By the end of the night, we were completely spent. I went to bed with a nasty headache and woke up stuffy with a VERY sore throat and almost no voice. Whatever I thought was just a scratchy throat before was clearly something more disgusting. I called Ellie's nurse to check up on her and told her that I was not feeling well and I wasn't sure if I should to come by to see Ellie or not. The nurse practitioner called back later in the day to give another update and told me to stay away if I could. I might have the same thing that Ellie has, but if I didn't, I'd risk giving her one more thing to battle if I went over to cuddle her. The nurses she has are spending extra time with her and making sure Ellie gets lots of cuddles and such, but it is killing me knowing that she's not feeling the greatest, and I'm not able to go hold her. Brandon went over and hung out with her yesterday and brought back a video of her smiles and such. She looks like she's feeling better, for sure. For now, I'm going to give myself a few more hours away and try to rest up some. I know that the worst thing I could do would be giving her something new to fight while she's just coming back from sickness. Ugh!
The boys were excited to take a shower. After Kaleb pooped in the tub last week, I think the shower is going to be our go-to moving forward. Geesh!
Dancing (and laughing at Lance's dance moves) at the vow renewal.
Thank you or the pics, Doug Fosnight!
Daddy & Kaleb
I promise Lance was here, too. If you know that kid, though... he's never in one place for more than half a second. So getting a picture of him was impossible.
Mommy & Kaleb eating dinner
On the home front... or the "going home" front, rather... we were able to find a local company who has nurses available. They aren't covered by our insurance, but I guess they were able to file an exception or something (wish I had known that was an option before). So our case was finally submitted to our private insurance last week... the day after I posted about our nursing saga. That's a big step in the right direction! Now we have to wait for them to come back with a decision on hours. This process can take a while... but we hope to hear back early this week so that we can get home this week with our Bug. My three-year-old nephew asked me on Saturday, "Jackie, did you bring your baby here?". I had to think... I'm pretty sure Noah hasn't seen Ellie since early November. Gosh! Plus, Saturday is B's birthday... it'd be nice to be able to celebrate that at our house, right?
Enjoying movies on Sunday night with the boys
He might need a haircut soon...
Thank you all so much for following along and sending your prayers for healing and home. We love and appreciate all of you and all of your thoughts and prayers. I hope to send pictures from home VERY soon!
Jackie: I have been following you, not able to read all you write. I think you might have made a good nurses you are so detailed and good at explaining the details. I pray for you all as God brings you to mind. I worked with your sister Emily, at the Sidney PO. God Bless you all! May God continue to give you the strength and encouragement you need!
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