Mar. 1, 2008 - Tales of Pneumonia
I haven't had a chance to blog for a while. I've pasted an email that I sent out to our homeschool group explaining the drama of our past two weeks. For you, my readers, here's why:
Elijah came home from the hospital yesterday. He was there for just
over two days. Here's a bit of the background..
down with influenza last week. On Tuesday of last week we got
positive diagnosis (via the painful nasal swab) of influenza. Elijah
just had a bad cough and had been running a low fever. By Thursday
his cough was getting worse, and by Friday I took him in to see his
doctor. No pneumonia then, but I was told to watch him carefully.
On Saturday his cough was terrible. He was having a hard time
catching his breath while coughing and coughed so hard that he would
toss his cookies. I took him to North Memorial Maple Grove's Urgent
Care on Sunday morning. He was diagnosed with pneumonia then. He
was put on antibiotics. By Monday morning he was worse and I could
see him struggling with his breathing. I took him back to the
clinic. His oxygen was 88 (if I remember right) so they gave him two
neb treatments and I was told to bring him back that afternoon for
another. Caleb was diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs that
morning as well. I took him in that afternoon for another
treatment. The doctor told me he thought he looked better, but I
didn't feel it in my "momma's heart." He struggled the whole night.
On Tuesday morning he was highly irritable and wouldn't eat. In fact
he stopped eating late Monday night. He wasn't coughing as hard, but
when he was it was very tight. The last straw came when he became
lethargic. I had a hard time waking him up and keeping him awake. I
took him back to his doctor. He had another neb treatment, and the
doctor wanted to watch him for three hours. Then I started to cry
and showed the doctor how he hardly wakes up. The doc then asked if
I wanted to admit him now, to which I said "yes" because I couldn't
bear to watch him for a couple more hours in such distress.
Especially since the doctor was probably going to be admitting him
later.
When I got to the hospital he was very dehydrated and feverish. Lori
C**** met me there (thank you, thank you, thank you.) and was there
as he had his iv put in and while they hooked him up to all the
monitors. At around 4:30 he woke up and was more alert and almost
cracked some smiles. That first night his oxygen level dipped below
90 several times, but he was able to cough and get it up to about 92
most of the night. In the morning he was a different, and happier
babe. They started to wean him off the iv. At 3:00 they took him
off completely, and then Elijah stopped eating again. He became once
again highly irritable. His urine output dropped from diapers
weighing 160 grams to 10-30 grams. They came to assess him and
determined that his airway was irritated and sore. And thus it hurt
him when he would eat. He would nurse a bit, and then swallow, and
then fidget. He wouldn't eat normally due to his sore throat. So,
they upped his tylenol dose and hooked him back up to the iv since he
was showing signs of becoming dehydrated again. He calmed down
within anhour of getting the iv and slept much more peacefully. That
night his oxygen remained at 94-95. Much, much better. In the
morning he was cooing and charming all the nurses. His doctor came
in and checked him out. His pneumonia was still in both lungs but
was looser and coarse sounding. She took him off the iv at 9 am and
watched. He kept eating...as long as we kept the Tylenol in him. By
1pm they said that he could go home. He seemed puzzled to finally
see people without yellow masks on their faces as everyone who came
into our room had to wear a mask. (including Lori!) He is home now
and slept decent last night. His cough sounds worse, but I believe
it is because he is able to move that junk now. I felt his diaper
this morning and it felt heavy...a good 160+ grams! Hooray!
He still is fidgety when he eats, but as long as he has pain medicine
he is okay. He seems happy to see everyone.
Thank you so much for the prayers and the meals. I am quite exhausted
right now. My house is in disarray (due to me racing around for two
days prior to him going to the hospital and then me being gone for
three days), and I know it will take a bit to "regroup." I feel so
blessed by all of you. The nursing staff was amazed at the support
group that I have, and in discussing you all with them it led to
positive discussions of homeschooling and Christ. Thank you for
being there.
Everyone seems on the mend. Caleb is getting better as well.
Sorry that this is so long. I just had to type it out. When I was
there it was a blur. This morning my heart feels so achey, and I am
thinking that I wasn't really processing much while I was there...I
was just being strong for Elijah. So, for those of you who survived
reading this...thanks.
With deep gratitude,
Rachel and Elijah
He is doing much better today. I've posted a few pictures of him from his hospital stay.
Blessings and good health to you!
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Feb. 13, 2008 - Butterflies
Today with my younger kids we talked about butterflies. We read "The Very Hungry Catepillar" and a couple of science books. In the science book it talked about how a catepillar literally changes to a substance simiilar to mushy soup as it undergoes metamorphosis. It got me thinking about how, we as God's children, need to let go of the old self, turn into "mushy soup" and let God do His handiwork!!
I hope you enjoy today's pictures and projects.
My four year old hard at work...
My two year old's handiwork...
Working hard...
A finished project!
Reading the story, just one more time!
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Feb. 12, 2008 - Valentines Cards
My kids all have to make Valentines Cards for co-op. The younger ones are content with store-bought, but my older daughters want to make each of their friends hand-made cards. So I bought PixieStix, heavy red/green cardstock, and papers. They are using the PixieStix as part of the arrow.
Then they are using a paper punch to slide the arrow through a heart with a hand written message. I used some left over colorful origami paper for the cut out layered hearts. The arrow point is made with thick white card stock.
A handwritten message from my ten year old daughter to her dear friend.
Hard at work...
Finished product!
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Feb. 10, 2008 - Daily Life
As many of you know, I have another blog www.homeschoolblogger.com/raesfamily where I blog about life's journey and faith. That blog is a series of ponderings about life, about God, and my faith and attitude towards daily life. I love that blog, but I wanted more. So, in addition to that blog, I've decided to blog about daily life, and finding joy in daily living. Sounds easy? Well, I've found it to be challenging, especially in the midst of trials. So, let's run together and see where this new journaling process takes me. I'm excited to see how this blog will evolve.
A Joy Assignment-
Find any mundane task (for me it would be laundry) and reframe that task in your mind. So, if I take laundry, then I would shift from being frustrated that I have so much laundry to do to be grateful that I have laundry to do. Cleaning can become a joy because I have a home to clean. Then post a comment sharing about your joy assignment, and a blurt on your blog. I'll be sure to check it out and comment as well!
Here's a picture of my second daughter, making a structure with spaghetti noodles. Where's the joy? According to her, "it was just fun building with something other than blocks." For me? What a delight it aws to see her face and the sense of accomplishment she felt!
