When the going gets tough...

Well, I know it's been forever since I've blogged...I keep saying I'm going to get better, but let's face it, I'm just spontaneous like this. :)  I actually like to document the BIG events, and recently we had one that is blog worthy.  So, here's the story...m

We started out Spring Break this year with head colds and slight fevers, but Uncle R.K., Emma and Ryan were here visiting from Oregon, so we tried not to let it get us down.  Saturday, I loaded up all of the kids and we met the whole Gascho clan at Treece's for lunch.  They were all so good, laughing and playing with the other kids.  I left lunch with plans of taking the kids to get groceries at Walmart, home to put them to bed, and headed back out for a night where I could actually visit without chasing 5 kids...My night would actually not go that way at all.

I have grocery shopped many times with all 5 kids by myself...pushing one of the big carts with 3 seats while pulling another.  As they've gotten bigger, it doesn't leave much room for groceries. :)  This particular trip, Ben was riding in the front of the cart that I was pulling, and I didn't think think much about him laying his head down on the handle.  And then the nightmare began...I was approached by a man that said, "Excuse me, Miss.  He is getting sick."  As I lifted Ben's head, I could tell that something wasn't right.  His eyes were open, but he was not in the same place that we were.  It almost seemed as if her was choking.

I am lucky that so many wonderful people immediately stepped in and took over his care.  An ambulance was called, and as he lay on the floor, I saw him begin to go into convulsions.  My heart began to ache...I couldn't figure out what was happening or why.  I could not possibly be losing another child...

Leaving my other 4 kids at Walmart, listening to the EMTs yell his name in the back of the ambulance, watching the multiple attempts to start an iv, watching the doctors' and nurses' concerned faces as, what seemed to be a seizure, continued even after multiple attempts to control it with medicine, watching them poke and prod and test to try to figure out what was happening to his little body, waiting, and waiting, and waiting and WAITING for hours for him to wake up so that I could hear him laugh that infectious laugh again...These are the things that haunt me at night, lately.

I pray that the root cause of this scary day was the metapneumovirus that they discovered during their tests.  In a couple days, we will go for an MRI, and hopfully we will be able to get some closure with comfort of not having to go through this again.  I can't even begin to explain how grateful we've been for all of the thoughts, prayers, messages, etc.  We are a very blessed family.

Tis The Season...

First (hopefully the last) stay at Riley.

It's that time of year.  It is only the middle of September yet some stores have already started putting out their Christmas decorations.  It seems like it gets earlier and earlier each year, and I swear that as soon as the decorations are out, cold and flu season hits.  I have been dreading this season more this year than ever before.  With 4 times the risk of RSV (Respiratory syncytial virus, which causes infection of the lungs and breathing passages, is a major cause of respiratory illness in young children.

In adults, it may only produce symptoms of a common cold, such as a stuffy or runny nose, sore throat, mild headache, cough, fever, and a general feeling of being ill. But in premature babies and kids with diseases that affect the lungs, heart, or immune system, RSV infections can lead to other more serious illnesses.), the chances that we will have to spend some time in the hospital between now and spring are pretty good.

Poor Sick Little Guy

In fact, it's already struck the Stewart household.  This past weekend, all of the kiddos (Lilya included) came down with runny noses.  By Sunday, we were running two vaporizors, using nasal spray and lots of kleenexes, and using the suction bulb often.  While everyone had it, Lilya and Benjamin were the only two that were coughing, and it sounded pretty bad.  I called our doctor on Monday morning, and because of the fact that Benjamin was a preemie, she decided it would be best for her to see him.  I really didn't think much of it.  He has always sounded a little raspy, and when I had asked the doctor about it before, she said that his tonsils were big, so it caused him to breathe a little harder than the others.  After stripping him down to a diaper in the dr.'s office, I watched his little diaphram work as he took breaths in and let them out.  I felt terrible...I hadn't realized that he was working so hard to breathe.  His oxygen levels did register low, and even after a treatment with a nebulizer, the dr. decided that it would be best for him to get a little extra attention from the folks at Riley.  I was in shock when she said that they wanted me to take him to the ER, and they would send a transport team to get him. 



It was so hard to see him in that big hospital bed with the oxygen canual on his face.  Thankfully, after a few hours of oxygen, a steroid shot, and a few breathing treatments, the dr.s felt like he would be okay to come home.  We are still giving breathing treatments every four hours, but it is nice to be back home with the rest of our family.  Praying that is the last of our stays at Riley.



Happy to be going home!