Follow-up Appointment

Gideon had his follow-up appointment today. They are going to have him do a pulse oximetry study on Monday to see if he can get off the oxygen at night. On the way to the doctors office Gideon kept saying that the doctor missed him and that was why we needed to go to the doctor's because he wanted to see Gideon because he missed him. He said that the doctor was crying and crying because he missed Gideon.

Gideon's Bout with Pneumonia

Friday May 4th Gideon had a barking cough. Saturday he seemed tired and by 4:00 Saturday night he was asleep. He had a fever and threw up once on Saturday night. Sunday he wanted to be held all day long. He was very lethargic and still feverish. Sunday evening he started breathing very shallowly and rapidly. I took him to the after-hours clinic. They said that he was breathing 65 breaths a minute. Normal respirations are 20-30/min, but they said it was due to his temperature of 102.7 degrees. His ear also looked red, but there was no pus visible so they didn't want to do any antibiotics. He also had a tonsil stone (uncommon for 2-year-olds, but Gideon seems to be lucky that way) that they popped out of his tonsil. They gave us advil and sent us home saying Gideon just had a cold.

 Gideon was so sick that he did not have enough energy to do anything. He looked like this even when he was awake...just lying in the hospital bed.

Sunday night he was still very sick and had a fever he would drink water but wouldn't eat anything. Monday he was still sluggish and had to be carried everywhere. I put him down for a minute and he just stood in that spot and cried until I picked him back up. I took him back to the PA (Mike Gibson) he had seen on Sunday. We told him he still has a fever, he is still very sick, and asked him to make sure that the tonsil stone he got out was completely gone and that it was not the reason Gideon was so sick. He looked at his throat again and sent us home saying bring Gideon back in a few days or so if he still had a fever. Monday night Gideon was given a blessing.

Tuesday and Wednesday he continued with fevers. Wednesday I called again because the office had never called me with the results of the strep test they had done. They told me those tests were negative. I asked to make an appointment for Gideon. She asked if he was wheezing and if his abdomen was sucking in when he breathed. He didn't have either of those symptoms. She told me that if it were her son she would wait another day or two to see if the fever would go away on it's own. My gut feeling was that something was really wrong and that I should take him in. I also wished that the nurse was right and that he would just get better on his own. I gave it another day...

So now Gideon had hardly eaten anything and had been on only fluids for five days.

 Thursday May 10th I took him to Sue Ann who is our regular PA and his SPO2 was 70. She put him on oxygen right away. Gideon still was not wheezing and there was only a very very slight sucking in on his abdomen when he breathed. He did have an ear infection in one ear and her guess was pneumonia. She sent us straight to the hospital and Gideon only whimpered as they put in his IV. He was too sick to do much of anything. They did X-rays and put him on 2 different types of antibiotics and did bloodwork. His CRC was 17.3 (normal is 1) and his X-ray showed he had a bad case of pneumonia. By Friday morning his blood draw showed his CRC was 15.8 and his x-ray was also improving. Yeah!

 By Friday evening Gideon was feeling well enough to play a little. His right hand was splinted with the IV in it, but Gideon created a ramp out of his bed. One of the nurses gave him a Lightning McQueen car which he loved to roll down the hospital bed. Finally on Saturday I heard Gideon laugh. What a wonderful sound that I had missed for a whole week!!!

Mother's day I was hoping that we could go home, but his oxygen levels still weren't high enough to let us go. The highlight of my day was when Keri showed up with dinner. Way yummier that hospital food!

Gideon came home today May 14th at about noon. This is Gideon leaving the hospital in a wagon. He still has trouble with breathing at night and has an oxygen tank to use while he is sleeping. They will probably do another X-ray at some point to make sure everything is cleared up.

I was so grateful for the peace that I felt remembering the words of the blessing that Gideon was given on Monday. I felt a peaceful reassurance that Gideon's needs would be met at the hospital. My heart ached thinking of parents that I know who have been through sicknesses like this and even worse illnesses with their children. Some who have even lost their children. The thought of losing Gideon worried me on Thursday after he was admitted. Then I was quickly blessed with a peaceful feeling that Gideon would be well again soon. One thing I kept thinking is that he can't die now because he is going to grow up to be an amazing missionary and father.

Now we are home and there is just the aftermath of having your life turned upside down for a week and a half. I am dreading the bill that will come after 5 days in the hospital and then the oxygen on top of that. It is a good reminder that we need to stay out of debt and save our money so that we can have it when unexpected trials come our way.

I am exhausted and was very spoiled by our neighbors with a plate of cookies, dinner, and a card to brighten up our week.

Corinne's Laugh

We were watching old videos this morning and found this one. It made us laugh so hard that we had to put in in the blog. Corinne can still do this laugh too.