Sigh

We have only been back in school for two weeks and 2 days, and we are already knee deep in germs here at our house.  Sammy came in and woke me up at 2:00 in the morning, sounding like a cross between a pack a day smoker and a barking seal.  He also had a fever, and raging case of the croup.  (Only 4 kids in his preschool class were well enough to come to school today!)  Jeff stayed home with him, which was nice for Jeff since he is a dealing with a nasty cold himself.

Evan has been falling asleep in the car on the way home from school everyday, as he also has a nasty cold.  So far, only Charlie and I are safe.  Fingers crossed.

I can't believe this is happening in August! I've said it before, and I'll say it again...my kids have the worst immune systems EVER.  And they certainly didn't get that from me! ~cough~

I'm off to stock up on orange juice and chicken noodle soup.

Bible in 90 Days: Check in 7 and LOTS of other stuff

This has been one of the worst weeks of my life. Truly.

My Dad had an open heart procedure done on Tuesday morning. It was done to help correct problems he has had with atrial fib (when your heart gets out of rhythm) since he was 27. The procedure went fine, and the surgeon was just counting instruments before they closed all the incisions when my Dad had a massive heart attack on the operating table. It took the doctor a minute to figure out what was going on, but while he was trying to work through possibilities, he shocked my Dad's heart to try and restart it. Nothing. He tried massaging the heart with his hands. Nothing. So they put him on a heart lung machine, and did an emergency double bypass surgery. Unfortunately, since he didn't have time to discover where the blockage was located, he had to guess while performing the bypass. That night, we were SO THANKFUL that he was still alive. A nurse called my sister from the hospital right after the heart attack to tell her to get to the hospital right away because our dad wasn't going to make it. The doctor didn't think he would make it through the surgery. I felt so bad for my sister that she had to pass that message on to the rest of our siblings. My Mom was in such shock in the waiting room, she couldn't make the call herself.

The bypass only treated one of the two blockages my Dad had, so that first night he struggled mightily to keep his blood pressure up, and his heart still had to work so hard. They couldn't sedate him or give him much pain meds that night because it would make his blood pressure fall further, so he was aware. He had a vent in, so couldn't communicate with his voice, but at about 2:00 in the morning, my Mom figure out he was writing letters on his bed sheet trying to communicate with us. He spelled out HOT, THIRSTY, and also I WAS AWAKE. "What do you mean you were awake?" my Mom asked. "During surgery?" He spelled out SHOCK. We figured out he was aware of it when the tried to defibrillate his heart with the shock paddles. My Mom asked him if it hurt. He shook his head no. When we have told medical professionals about this, they are amazed. It would/should not have been possible for him to be aware of anything then between sedation and having no blood pressure and low oxygen. We are pretty sure he had a near death experience, especially since he did not feel pain when they shocked him.

The surgeon discovered the next day that another blockage was still making his heart work too hard, so they did an immediate angioplasty and put in a stint. Thankfully that took care of the blockage. His heart was so shocked after everything though, his blood pressure was still low, so they put him on a machine new to the US called an Impella machine to help his heart beat. He was the first patient in the hospital to ever use it! He also had a balloon pump located under the heart to help it pump.

As of today, he still has the vent, and the balloon pump, and he has been sedated since Wednesday morning. He has a temp this morning, so they are checking to see where/what kind of infection may be forming. His kidneys aren't quite up to par either, so they are keeping a close eye on that as well. We have been praying incessantly for the past 5 days. I have truly felt God's presence in every moment.

Needless to say my Bible reading got off track for a few days during all of this, but with the exception of today's reading, I am all caught up. I am reading Jeremiah, which has not been terribly comforting. To be honest, I really struggle with the Old Testament. It is hard to see the loving God I feel everyday with the God who was constantly wiping out the Israelites. I wish I was reading the New Testament through all of this trial in our lives. I am going to keep on track as much as I can this week.

Please pray for my Dad.

You can read more about the Bible in 90 Days program by visiting Mom's Toolbox.

Company Girl Coffee 2-5

I don't even know where to start with this post. I have been running on adrenalin for the past two days, and now I am tired and weepy.

My Dad went in for a surgical procedure on his heart on Wednesday morning. It was a procedure he has had twice before, and was supposed to be fairly routine. However, during the surgery, the femoral artery in his groin tore as they were trying to thread a line up to his heart. He began to bleed internally pretty heavily. When all was said and done, he lost about 6-7 pints of blood, which ended up in his abdomen and behind his organs. Initially, they had trouble stopping the bleeding, and getting him stabilized, which was beyond nerve wracking. My siblings, mother, and I spent most of the day Wednesday at the hospital waiting and hoping and praying while they worked to stop the bleeding and stabilize him.

He had several blood transfusions to help replace what was lost and bring up his hemoglobin levels. Today he was in pretty severe pain with the fluid and blood in his gut putting pressure on his lungs and organs, so they are giving him some pretty heavy duty pain killers. He was allowed to sit up a little today, but it will be awhile before they let him out of bed to try standing or walking.

The whole situation was so surreal. It was scary and made me feel so helpless. During the worst of it, the thought I kept coming back to was that I absolutely can't imagine my life without my dad in it. He is truly larger than life, and is the best man I know. He has a wicked sense of humor, a love of children and animals, and is the handiest man around the house. Best of all, he is a connector of people. He has a magic talent for working with others, and bringing out the best in everyone he meets. He finds ways to nurture friendships between people who might not otherwise be together. He is the core of our family and the core of our lives. Without him to anchor me, I feel like I would float, aimlessly.

I am just so incredibly thankful he is getting better. I am so thankful for everyone who has cared for my family this week. My dad has been uplifted through prayer and love, and it has helped us to feel much comfort.

I am hoping and praying that this weekend brings quick healing and pain relief for my dad, and some rest for my Mom, who has been through the wringer. I know I asked for a prayer last week as well from all of you Company Girls, but if you could spare time for one more, I would love you for it. Prayer is AMAZING, and it is what is getting us through.

Germs Germs Germs

I was excited on Monday to be able to have a normal week with healthy children and 5 days of school to catch up on things at work.

The germs attacking my family had other plans. They decided our week with H1N1 and high fevers last week was not nearly enough fun!

So today, when Charlie woke up from his nap, he had a fever of 104 again. Awesome!

Back to the doctor we went, where we discovered he had a raging case of strep. His pediatrician said it was one of the worst he has seen he has seen in a long time, probably because his immune system was in poor shape after his bout with the flu.

I am back to sanitizing the house, even though I just went through this ritual over the weekend. I just don't want ANY MORE SICKNESS. Does everyone hear me?! I AM DONE WITH THESE GERMS. Amen, The end.

Fluish Woes

We are all sick and tired around these parts.
Charlie came down with H1N1 on Monday night, and Sammy joined his brother in the high fever wracking cough department in the wee early hours of Thursday morning. This bug is wretched. Sammy's fever was 104.2 at it's highest point, and that just scares the poop out of me. This morning he came into our room at about 6:00, breathing like an old man with emphysema, and he said "Mommy, I just can't breathe!" Which also scares the poop out of me.

So, we've been downing tamiflu and ibuprofen, and taking regular breathing treatments in an effort to get well quickly. Charlie missed the Halloween party and trick or treating fun at preschool, and now I am worried Sammy won't be able to breathe well enough to go trick or treating tomorrow. And is there anything worse than being an almost 3 year old whose mother has told you that you can't go trick or treating?

Evan is not speaking to me this morning after having to reschedule his birthday party for the second time due to germs. He is so incredibly disappointed, but what else can you do? Stupid flu!

The bright spot in all of this is that I got to see my wonderful father in law in action. He called us Tuesday night and told he was coming down one day this week to watch the sick kiddos so that we could work. Bless him! He came in armed with a cooler full of soup and orange juice, and it meant the world to me. The kids are all in love with him. One of the nicest Grandpas I have ever had the pleasure of meeting, and I am so glad my kids can call him their own.

I hope all of you are having a much better Halloween week than we are!!

Feeling Better

Thanks everyone for you kind thoughts and comments!!! Bloggers are the best, no?

Evan is feeling much better today, and his cough is almost gone. Charlie and Sammy are still okay. The only one I am still worried about is Jeff, who woke up yesterday sounding like a bull frog. He has a productive cough and stuffy nose, but no fever or anything, so maybe it is just a common cold. It's a scary world when you have to be so suspicious of every cough and sneeze.

I spent yesterday disinfecting the house, and lamenting the horrible end to the Nebraska vs. Virginia Tech game. Lost in the last 90 seconds what I was sure they were going to win. Jeff screamed so loud at the end there, that Evan came running from downstairs, sure that he was having a heart attack. We were that shocked. Sad day here in Husker country, that's for sure.

I did get to sneak away in the evening for a bit. Have I ever told you that I love to sing? I was in choir in high school and I sing periodically at church services at school. I was super excited when our church announced a few weeks ago that they would be forming a choir. (We are a new parish, and are slowing getting groups like this off the ground). When I was a single gal, I sang at the church where Jeff and I belonged before we were married. I think he saw my wistful look when they announced the choir forming at church. He galantly offered to be on kid duty while I went to practices and services. Saturday was our premier, and it was so much fun. I am so grateful my husband knows what I need to feed my heart, and is giving enough to help me experience it. He rocks.

We are all praying for a week of health around here. I will be stuffing my family with chicken soup and orange juice for dinner tonight.

Oink Oink!

I knew it was only a matter of time...

My kids are the biggest germ magnets. EVER. As you might remember, we have been to the pediatrician 4 times just this week.

You also might remember we went in on Thursday because everyone had bad coughs, especially Evan, who also had a bad headache, wheezing, body aches, runny nose, and sore throat. At the time, the doctor we saw (not our regular pediatrician, but someone else in the practice) thought it was probably croup.

This morning I found out that one of Evan's best friends at school was diagnosed with H1N1, or Swine Flu. I immediately felt some puzzle pieces falling into place. With the exception of a fever, Evan had all of the symptoms. This afternoon while at the doctor to remove Charlie's stitches, Dr. B confirmed that it is very likely Evan also has H1N1. The good news is that it is a very mild case. So far, Charlie and Sammy are free and clear. I am praying they stay that way.

I am thankful that if we have to deal with it, it isn't a very bad case. Maybe this is even best so Evan can get some immunity, but not any dangerously bad symptoms. The worst part so far has been the cough and lung congestion, which has aggravated his asthma, but which has been controlled through steroids.

Hopefully we will have a relaxing and healing weekend. We're going to try and lay low and drink lots of orange juice.

Where, oh where, is the house for us?

We went house hunting again this morning, despite my strep induced delirium. Which certainly made the experience more entertaining.

The first house we visited, in a word, sucked. This word may have accidentally escaped my lips and floated out to the agents ears, which caused a loud guffaw from John, our uber patient agent. Normally, I wouldn't say this in a situation which requires me to be somewhat professional, or at least look like a grownup who is perfectly capable of spending a crap load of money on a home. However, it appears large doses of pain relievers lowers my inhibitions a bit.

The house was built in 1966, and if that was your favorite year, than this is the house for you, because it has not changed one bit. And by that, I even mean that the stove and oven were original to the house. Does that add character? I think not.

The second house we saw has been tempting us all afternoon. The layout? Perfect. The location? Awesome (as in 3 minutes from Grandma's house. My kids could walk over to play, and I might be left alone to have time to MYSELF!) The price? Great. BUT...it needs a new roof and furnace. Not a huge deal, as we would put that in as a contigency of our offer. But, it also needs some other updating. We would end up working to make it better for quite a bit. And, as longtime readers of this blog know, Jeff and I can hardly chage a light bulb. You may recall the time Jeff and I became locked in a bedroom with Sam when attempting to change out a doorknob, leaving Charlie free to attack the house with a Sharpie marker. One of the highpoints of Charlie's young life, to be sure.

So, we have spent the rest of the day feeling like our brains are in a pinball machine as we bounce around from one option/decision to another. I am actually leaning towards staying here, refinancing, doing some home improvements, and looking again in a year. Although that could be because my ears feel like they are going to explode out of my head, and I am so tired I can't imagine packing up all of our stuff and setting up house somewhere else.

Maybe we'll try sleeping on it, and the decision will be waiting for us when we wake, all wrapped up with a bow. Wouldn't that be awesome?!

Aaaannd...I'm sick. Again. I know you're shocked.

Just found out I have strep throat. And a double ear infection. Which would explain a lot about how I have been feeling the last few days.

The real miracle here is that all three boys were patient enough to sit in the waiting room, the exam room, and the pharmacy waiting room with me long enough for me to get treated and medicated. Seriously. You have no idea how awesome this is. We bought a large bag of sugar coated colorful popcorn to celebrate. I am not above bribing my children. It's totally worth it, and a highly effective parenting tool in emergencies.

The miracles just kept coming as we pulled into the driveway, and Jeff pulled in right behind us. Home before eight o'clock! May wonders never cease! He fed the kiddos their bribe, popped them into the tub, and put them to bed. I have been able to sit and rest on the couch uninterrupted for 3 hours.

May the healing begin.

Stress

It's been a stressful couple of days around here. Yesterday was very sad for our family. We buried my Uncle Clyde, who passed away last week after a long battle with lymphoma. I am so sad that my aunt and cousins had to say good-bye to a wonderful husband, father, and grandfather. I am glad that he is no longer in pain. Cancer is a horrible disease, and a horrible thing to have to watch a loved one go through. My prayer today is that my aunt and her family have the strength and peace of the Lord as they go through the difficult days ahead.

I took Charlie in for a hearing test on Friday as a part of the speech evaluation his pediatrician recommended. Luckily, his hearing test came out fine. In fact, he hears so well that only 1% of the population can hear sounds as high as he can, or as soft. It is a curse that I have as well. Maybe I'll tell you about my "dog hearing" (as my family calls it) sometime. It's a long story though so I'll save it for later. Unluckily, the timing of the test meant that I had to take the whole day off of work Friday. And then again Monday. And then again this coming Friday so Charlie can go to the eye doctor. It is TOTALLY a pain in the butt to take time off work as a teacher. I may never dig out from under the piles of work on my desk after this.

Jeff came home from work today with a fever, and sick to his stomach. I don't mind taking care of sick people, especially when they are my husband or kids. But I am so afraid I am going to catch it, and have to take off yet more time from work.

And to top it off-DID YOU SEE THAT JERK ON THE BACHELOR LAST NIGHT?!! I can't believe I totally fell for his single dad charms. Couldn't he have broken up with her ahead of time, instead of, oh-I don't know, ON NATIONAL TELEVISION?!!! I may have to boycott next season. I am totally disgusted.

Here's to hoping for a better Wednesday.

And the germs just keep coming...

But, there was a bright spot in the day. Well, maybe a couple.

We only had a half day at school today, so Jeff was able to stay home with the kids in the morning, and I came home in the afternoon. No sick days used=awesome.

My new camcorder came in the mail today! I have been annoying the children by sneaking around them and recording their every move. I love having something that is easily uploadable to the computer. I love iMovie. I feel like Kevin Costner directing my own Oscar worthy film. Even if most of it today has just been of my children and their germs.

And don't you just hate having to listen to your own voice on things? I sound like a smurf. How do you y'all stand me?

Watch out! If I figure it out, this blog will have a lot more video clips!!!

Germ Invasion

We're having a super fun Thursday around here. Charlie and Sammy both got diagnosed with RSV today. On top of that Charlie also has strep throat.

We also heard the sad news that Jeff's grandma in Colorado is expected to pass away in the next couple of days after complications with pneumonia/flu.

When it rains, it pours.

Illness

I didn't write about this last weekend in an effort to not complain too much, but I feel the need to do so now, because sickness is consuming my life.

Last Sunday I was diagnosed with strep throat. Which was depressing of course, but more so because I had just finished two bouts with a wretched stomach bug within the last three weeks.

I pushed through work during the week. I know I should have stayed home at least a day, but my class had two practices during the day for our big All Saints Day at church on Tuesday, and to tell you the truth, I just can't afford to use a sick day on myself. I have already used 4 1/2 this year, and with all of the eye doctor appointments for Evan I need all that I have left. And God knows the toddlers are going to get sick as we head into cold and flu season. At my school, when you run out of sick days, if you miss any other days you have to pay for the sub out of your own pocket. Which is $125 a day. Something we can't afford on top of Evan's eye treatment.

By Tuesday, I was also coughing and stuffy and running a fever again. I thought at first it was related to the strep throat. By Wednesday it hurt terribly to breathe, and I was feeling worse instead of better. I decided to go back to the doctor, but I couldn't make it until Friday afternoon between doctor appointments for Charlie and swimming and choir for Evan.

Yesterday I was diagnosed with pneumonia. They gave me yet another antibiotic, steroids, and cough medicine with codeine. Which I was very grateful to knock myself out with last night. I slept soundly for the first time in days.

The most depressing thing for me, and the questions I wish I could have answered is why. Why do I just get one thing after another?

If I am honest with myself, I really think it is because I can't rest and heal like I need to. I need to crawl into bed for several days and stay there. The not taking off from work is made worse by the fact I am a single mom during the week. Jeff is rarely home before 7:30. So even when I get home from work I can't rest because I am still on the job as Mom and Dad put together. Which sucks but it is just a fact of life for me/us.

I don't know what to do. My mom is coming Monday after school to help me out with the kids. I hate to depend too much I on her, but what else can we do?

I guess I will try to lay low as much as possible this weekend and just hope it is enough.

Enough is Enough

For the second time in two weeks, I am in bed with a wicked stomach bug. Yesterday at school I was exhausted in the morning, and felt a bit like my extremities were not attached to my body. By lunchtime I knew I had a fever, and was feeling nauseous. I started throwing up shortly there after. Somehow I made it through the school day.

I actually thought I was feeling a bit better until 8:00 hit, when the vomiting became continuous and I couldn't leave the bathroom. I can't explain to you how badly my stomach hurt. Around 4:00 in the morning, I threw up so violently it came out my nose, I hit my head on the toilet, and I knocked myself out. This was apparently the ticket to feeling a bit better, as when I came to, my stomach felt still enough for me to crawl to the bed and heave myself over the side. I was finally able to sleep around 6 this morning, and I slept until 4:30 this afternoon. I am feeling weak, but much better. Anything would be better than last night.

So, sorry for the TMI, but I always feel better after complaining. Don't you? It makes my suffering feel validated somehow.

I can't believe how sick my family and I have been the last two weeks, and that it is only mid October. I hope this isn't an indication of how bad cold and flu season will be. Maybe we've already been through the worst of it.

Zoo Escape

Last night around 12:00 AM a seal that had escaped from the zoo pushed open my bedroom door and woke me from a deep sleep by barking and crying.

Actually, it was Evan. But he did sound a great deal like a barking seal. I knew immediately that it was his semi annual bout with the croup. The croup has always been Evan's disease of choice, and if a croup germ is within a million mile radius of him, he will catch it.

With his asthma, it is always a roller coaster ride, and last night was a particularly scary one. He was grabbing his throat, which was making horrible squeaking sounds with every indrawn breath, and he was croaking "I can't breathe!"

I hit the ground running and had him sucking down albuterol from his nebulizer in under 5 minutes. Then we spent some quality time in the bathroom with hot water running for steam. I set up the steam humidifier in his room, and finally got him comfortable. I headed back to bed around 1:30, but was so keyed up from being worried about him, it was a lot later when I finally dozed off.

I got back up at 5:45 to put in my call for a sub for my classroom, and tried to keep myself awake with Twitter, but accidentally fell back to sleep, and woke up at 8:30. Which gave the toddlers ample time to destroy their bedroom. Charlie had squirted lotion all over the changing table, the carpet, and Sammy's head. Sammy was spraying air freshener all over the diapers he had spread on the floor, along with every item previously located in the changing table drawers.

Somehow we made it to the doctor's office by 10:00 where croup was confirmed and steroids were prescribed. We headed to Walgreens where it took $37 of crap to entertain the toddlers and keep them in the cart. A price I was willing to pay after having to spend an hour in the waiting and exam rooms of the doctors office with Sammy.

I was totally jonesing for a nap, but because the universe was definitely laughing at my expense today, neither toddler took a nap. And instead redestroyed their room.

When Jeff came home from work tonight (late because he is going to take tomorrow off with Evan so he stayed to get some things done), he ruined what was left of my sanity by announcing that he will be going to Las Vegas the last week in October for work. He will be gone over parent teacher conferences, which means I need to arrange a sitter. AND OVER HALLOWEEN. I do NOT want to deal with this holiday on my own. God Bless America. Somebody get me a drink. And some tranquilizers.