On Wednesday afternoon a week ago, Jack started feeling warm to me, and by the time he woke up from his afternoon nap he was just hot. He had a temperature of 101.1, so we knew we were headed into the hospital. Jordan took him in, and ended up in the ER until after midnight. They finally got admitted and into a room around 1 am. Because Jack is not 3 yet, they have a rule that the little ones have to sleep in "Cribs," which look a lot more like cages than anything else. We have faced this every time we are admitted. We have to beg and plead to get Jack a normal sized bed, and by the end of the second day, we got one.
Since then, we have been waiting each day to hear what Jack's counts were, since he was fever free and we could give him antibiotics from home, to see if we could go home or not. After the second day, they found he did have a Staph infection, and have been treating him with antibiotics since we got here, but also specific antibiotics to his infection. He seems to be feeling fine, and is adjusting to hospital life. His counts have to be 200 or greater to be released, and well, the timing of us coming was not optimal for that happening. He was still getting chemo when we were admitted, and chemo has it's fullest effect 7-10 days after is it given. The doctors have been saying they expect us to have to stay for a while... Not exactly the kind of prediction of length of stay you hope for.
In the meantime, I caught a nasty cold Saturday and have been sick since. This is somewhat problematic, when your child with whom you are supposed to be caring for has absolutely no defense against the germs you are now full of and sneezing around. So I have been a hand washing machine and wearing a mask when I am close to his face. I have been exercising as much restraint as I can to not kiss him, and my nose is raw from using paper towels as tissues! So far, he shows no signs of having caught anything from me, Praise the Lord!
Jordan and I have been doing shifts here, ranging from 12 hours, to overnight and all day... Really whatever we can do for each other to give the other rest. We have Dylan being passed around to friends who have graciously been watching him for us, and our dear friends Josh and Ali Deckard, have allowed me and Jordan and Dylan to take turns sleeping at their home pretty much since Thursday night, taking such good care of us. Jordan and my parents have been heroes and taken care of Tyler for us since last Wednesday as well, both sides playing with him, and taking him to the pool countless times. He has been well cared for, as has Dylan.
So now we just wait; wait for his ANC to go up, wait on the Lord, who controls every cell in his body, and rest in the fact that this is where God wants us to be right now. The longer we are here, the more my heart aches for the other families who are in similar, or worse situations. There is so much sorrow and grief and fear on this floor. We have such hope in the gospel, in Christ, in the Lord who is near to us even in extended trails. If we are here for this longer stay just to be an encouragement to any other family here, then it will be time well spent. I want to hug the other children here, I want to pray with the other moms. I am praying the Lord open doors to do that, but if that doesn't happen, I will be content to pray for them, knowing that it was the prayers of so many friends that brought comfort and peace to my soul many many times.
I was just thinking this morning, how I miss having my family all together, my children all with me at the same time. Something I have often taken for granted, this simple time when we are under the same roof, just being together, is what I so look forward to in a few days (we hope!). I feel so separated from my little family, Jordan and I are like ships passing by each other, we only have brief times together between the "shift changes" and even that is distracted by caring for Jack or trying to figure out the logistics of who is watching which child and where and when, ect. Thank goodness this is a short time we are now in, with an eventual end in sight. I cannot imagine this for weeks, and months; yet I know that even if that were the trial we were in, grace would abound, as it has here and now.
I think Jordan is sending me back home tonight, so I can get better. Then hopeful, I will be back here Friday, or Jack will be able to come home. I must brag about my husband for one moment. He has served our son, and me without complaint this entire time. While trying to find time to work, and yet constantly caring for Jack, sleeping here at the hospital almost every night, and being filled with faith that this is where God has us right now... Man I am a blessed woman to have such a steadfast and humble servant of a husband. He brings God much glory in the ways he has served us. I am so grateful for this man that God has given to me.
I hope the next update is one of us getting to go home! But for now, here are the stats on Jack:
WBC: 1.1
HbC: 8.4
Plt: 91
ANC: 154
Pray these numbers rise, and my cold clears up and we can pack our bags and head home!
Since then, we have been waiting each day to hear what Jack's counts were, since he was fever free and we could give him antibiotics from home, to see if we could go home or not. After the second day, they found he did have a Staph infection, and have been treating him with antibiotics since we got here, but also specific antibiotics to his infection. He seems to be feeling fine, and is adjusting to hospital life. His counts have to be 200 or greater to be released, and well, the timing of us coming was not optimal for that happening. He was still getting chemo when we were admitted, and chemo has it's fullest effect 7-10 days after is it given. The doctors have been saying they expect us to have to stay for a while... Not exactly the kind of prediction of length of stay you hope for.
In the meantime, I caught a nasty cold Saturday and have been sick since. This is somewhat problematic, when your child with whom you are supposed to be caring for has absolutely no defense against the germs you are now full of and sneezing around. So I have been a hand washing machine and wearing a mask when I am close to his face. I have been exercising as much restraint as I can to not kiss him, and my nose is raw from using paper towels as tissues! So far, he shows no signs of having caught anything from me, Praise the Lord!
Jordan and I have been doing shifts here, ranging from 12 hours, to overnight and all day... Really whatever we can do for each other to give the other rest. We have Dylan being passed around to friends who have graciously been watching him for us, and our dear friends Josh and Ali Deckard, have allowed me and Jordan and Dylan to take turns sleeping at their home pretty much since Thursday night, taking such good care of us. Jordan and my parents have been heroes and taken care of Tyler for us since last Wednesday as well, both sides playing with him, and taking him to the pool countless times. He has been well cared for, as has Dylan.
So now we just wait; wait for his ANC to go up, wait on the Lord, who controls every cell in his body, and rest in the fact that this is where God wants us to be right now. The longer we are here, the more my heart aches for the other families who are in similar, or worse situations. There is so much sorrow and grief and fear on this floor. We have such hope in the gospel, in Christ, in the Lord who is near to us even in extended trails. If we are here for this longer stay just to be an encouragement to any other family here, then it will be time well spent. I want to hug the other children here, I want to pray with the other moms. I am praying the Lord open doors to do that, but if that doesn't happen, I will be content to pray for them, knowing that it was the prayers of so many friends that brought comfort and peace to my soul many many times.
I was just thinking this morning, how I miss having my family all together, my children all with me at the same time. Something I have often taken for granted, this simple time when we are under the same roof, just being together, is what I so look forward to in a few days (we hope!). I feel so separated from my little family, Jordan and I are like ships passing by each other, we only have brief times together between the "shift changes" and even that is distracted by caring for Jack or trying to figure out the logistics of who is watching which child and where and when, ect. Thank goodness this is a short time we are now in, with an eventual end in sight. I cannot imagine this for weeks, and months; yet I know that even if that were the trial we were in, grace would abound, as it has here and now.
I think Jordan is sending me back home tonight, so I can get better. Then hopeful, I will be back here Friday, or Jack will be able to come home. I must brag about my husband for one moment. He has served our son, and me without complaint this entire time. While trying to find time to work, and yet constantly caring for Jack, sleeping here at the hospital almost every night, and being filled with faith that this is where God has us right now... Man I am a blessed woman to have such a steadfast and humble servant of a husband. He brings God much glory in the ways he has served us. I am so grateful for this man that God has given to me.
I hope the next update is one of us getting to go home! But for now, here are the stats on Jack:
WBC: 1.1
HbC: 8.4
Plt: 91
ANC: 154
Pray these numbers rise, and my cold clears up and we can pack our bags and head home!
Comments
Psalm 34
Love,
Lynne