Going to the hospital

As my dear friend, Andi, pointed out: she knew something was wrong when I wasn't blogging.

Oh, friends, something was wrong, alright.

Almost four weeks ago, M spiked a high fever. We treated the culprit.

Three weeks ago, M spiked a high fever. Culprit: UTI. Lots of finger pricking, catherizations, several doctor's appointments. We thought we cleared it up.

Until this:

turned into a four day, three night trip to the hospital. Last Monday (3/31), M spiked yet another fever. H took her to work with him Tuesday. She exhibited some very strange symptoms, so, thankfully, H took her immediately to our pediatrician. He tested her for strep, flu, UTI, drew blood, got a shot. I took her back to the doctor Wednesday, her WBC count went up, not down, after the shot of antibiotics. We were having trouble controlling her fever and she wasn't making any wet diapers.

This is what the rest of Wednesday looked like:

Yep, straight from the pediatrician's office to the hospital.

Oh, wait...I forgot to mention the cathing at the hospital and the putting in of the IV. She looks rather peaceful now. There was at least one hour of NO peace for anyone around us. Immediately after being cathed again and having an IV put in, M was rolled through the hospital the radiology dept. to have a renal ultrasound. Kidneys look good. "Debris" in the bladder. It took almost 48 hours to find out what that meant.

This is what Thursday looked like:

Friday was definitely our worst day. I was exhausted. M was tired of being poked. My heart was breaking for her. I think we both cried all Friday afternoon. Particularly when our hospital doctor and our nurse said the words "in-patient test on Monday." I'm not medical professional, but if someone says "in-patient" that meant we would STILL BE THERE MONDAY. Complete meltdown in hallway. God is SO good. Someone didn't understand. M will not be having another test for a few weeks.

This is a pitiful picture from late Friday afternoon. New IV port. Much screaming and crying (M and mommy) to get this one in. Her other port was hurting because it had been in for so long.

We had the best medical care we could ask for. Our night nurses weren't the most considerate, but they did a great job. Our day nurses deserve medals. They were amazing.

I was completely humbled while we were in the hospital. There was a little girl there who was 21 months old. She was a premie (born at 25 weeks!). She's in foster care, but has been removed from her foster home because they weren't providing appropriate medical care for her. She got a serious infection while living at that home and has been in the hospital over a month now. She has sitters that come stay with her. M and I met her in the children's play room where her sitter was showing her the big fish tank. She was being pulled around in a radio wagon. M was so jealous. "Mommy, I wide with her!" M told me. I told M that she couldn't ride with that little girl. "But she my fwiend," M replied. I've been praying for that little girl, who is such a fighter--she's had such terrible circumstances in her short little 21 months. I've been praying for her sweet day sitter who comes every day to stay with her and brings her clothes to wear and bows for her hair. That woman is an angel.

Near the end

After our most difficult Friday afternoon, M decided she wanted silly faces all over her body. At that point, I would have bought her a ride to the moon if that would dry her tears and make her smile.

So, we drew silly faces her tummy,

on each hand,

and on each foot.

This morning, she found our tiny bathroom and unrolled herself quite a bit of toilet paper. She spent about 20 minutes washing her hands while H and I packed up her balloons, stuffed animals, crayons, puzzles: all love offerings from our dear, sweet friends and family.

We are so blessed with such an awesome church family, co-workers, and H's brother and sister-in-law. M had many visitors to help keep us company. Our every need was provided.

Thanks Joe for bringing lunch to me! Thanks Tracey for buying! I owe you both!

Despite such a difficult time, M and I had some very sweet time together. I was able to spend a lot of time in prayer. I was able to knit and read while M took her afternoon naps. I realized that M will be fine sharing her room in November when her little brother or sister arrives (Yes, we found out last week that we are pregnant!). She slept away even when people came into the room during her naps. She was such a trooper. H and I have been blessed with such a wonderful little girl.

I hope transitioning back to real life is easy for all of us. I let M watch a lot of TV and keep her snugglies all the time at the hospital. Those might be hard habits to break.

But we're home. And home has never felt so good!

edited to add: Kyla asked if M is okay now. Yes, we think so. We stayed an extra 24 hours in the hospital so she could have extra doses of the antibiotic. We do a dye test in a few weeks on her urinary tract to make sure all valves are working and that the urine is only going in the correct direction (no reflux). She will take antibiotics at home for 10 days--a different antibiotic than the one she had two weeks ago.

I'll continue to edit to answer questions!