I decided it was easier to update life on here than in a Facebook status....and realized I haven't posted in exactly 4 months over here! That's a long time to be missing out on journaling "therapy." (All my writing friends will know exactly what I'm saying there!)
In a nutshell, life has thrown some crazy things at us all in the span of just a few weeks.
Allegations that I'm not a fit mother to my oldest 3 children. Which really only warranted a laugh in response....and a big check to my attorney so I don't even have to think about it.
Car repairs to my car. Brakes are pretty important things!
The water heater burst....a few hours after my husband left for Nashville, TN. When I was home alone to work & care for our 5 children alone all week. I am generally able to fend for myself, and do small fix-its around the house with no issue. This one sent me straight to tears & calling my mommy for help. I couldn't get the water valve to shut, couldn't get the gas off...it was just rough. We bought a new water heater that evening, just to get it home & find it was a smidge too tall & we couldn't adjust for the height increase, so had to load it up & exchange it for (of course) a far more expensive "short" one. Got it all fixed up, the next night & could shower again. Thank goodness. OH! And I won't forget to credit the dear Lord in this. The water heater bursting was actually a blessing in disguise, as some would say. The gas lines to the old water heater were barely connected & it was rather amazing that we hadn't had a major gas leak in our house thus far!
Oh....before I get into the real big stuff, let my jump ahead & tell that Dustin's truck wouldn't start Friday night, and so it was left at the hospital overnight......Fixed that on Saturday tho!
And then there is Mason. God is the only one who can understand when I say that boy makes me age way before my time.
Last Monday he broke out in hives, I gave Benadryl. Daddy got home fro work about 20 minutes later & the hives were spreading. We used the Auvi-Q (a nifty little talking epi-pen) and did our routine 911 call & ER trip via ambulance.
Although, when I say routine, it sounds far more simple than it is. It really is a big ordeal. We get the city police, we get fire trucks & a house full of our town's volunteer firefighter/first responders, and some of their vehicles too because it's quicker for some to just stop rather than go to the firestation first. ;-)
Then the ambulance gets here later, after coming from the next town over. It's just overwhelming, and pure craziness.
Anyhow, got to the ER Monday night, meds & observation for a bit & discharged home with more prescriptions.
Thursday evening, he broke out in hives again. Benadryl ended them quickly.
Friday morning hives again. Benadryl did nothing. They spread all over his body in a matter of minutes, so we used the Auvi-Q again. And called 911. Again. This time was a bit worse tho. The ambulance tried getting an IV in him & couldn't. They did nebulizer treatments on the ride to the hospital. We got stuck by a train on the trip to the hospital. (This is my newest reason for moving out of this town, closer ambulance & we can find a place that won't get blocked off my trains!)
The time spent in the ER this time was harder for Mason & they decided to admit & continue stronger IV medications for 1-2 days.
The hospital had to re-open the pediatrics floor just for my monster. It was a good thing tho, that he wasn't sharing space. A 3 year old on that many steroids is just plain crazy. And he was able to be loud, and bounce down the hallways to release that energy & not have to worry about offending anyone.
They wanted to keep him again overnight. They were worried about us not knowing the cause of the reactions. And the chances of him ending back there anyhow today because of that.
Mason convinced them to let him go home so he could spend the night at his grandma & grandpas tho :-)
How is Mason??
That's such a hard question for me to answer. He's alive, he's no longer dealing with an immediate fear of life threatening reactions, he is out of the hospital. In that regards, he is OK.
But the honest truth is he is a 3 year old jacked up on an insane amount of steroids. He is hyper & moody & still battling symptoms from the reaction (wheezing, digestive stuff).
We still don't know the cause of the past week's reactions. It could very well be something inside our house, or it could be a sign of an autoimmune disorder & the way his body is reacting to a viral infection. We are on a constant stress knowing that at any moment it can all happen again, and we don't know how soon, if ever, we will get answers to what's going on with his little body.
He is exhausted, I'm exhausted, we all are exhausted. The number of medications this child is receiving right now is just unreal.
We go back to his primary doctor tomorrow as soon as she can get us in, and we will get in touch with (and possibly go to) his specialists in St Louis tomorrow as well.
It's a waiting game right now, with no end in sight.
We have had some angels amongst our family, friends & neighbors tho. I cannot say Thanks enough to everyone that has helped, or offered to help in the last few days. God places people in our lives at a time when we can use their kind hearts, that's for sure!!
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