Sam in the ED on admission. One very sick little boy!
Day after admission, checking out the view from our 8th floor hospital room.
Sam has spent the last 8 days at Children's Hospital recovering from a somewhat mysterious illness that we have yet to fully diagnose. We think that a virus or bacteria caused him to get sick, but no specific organism has been identified in spite of many tests and cultures. Saturday night he was started on a different, stronger IV antibiotic and his high fever finally began to subside after 8 days. His case was followed closely by pediatric otolaryngology, infectious disease, and general pediatric medicine teams.
Jake and Ben doing "doctor play" provided by the child life specialist. This really helped them cope with Sam's hospitalization (and incidentally their own recent trauma of the 2 step H1N1 vaccination experience!)Thankfully, we have not experienced the hospitalization of any of our children up till now. I had no idea how physically exhausting it would be to care for one sick little boy in the hospital. Being 37 weeks pregnant made it hard for me to care for him alone for very long. For the first few days it was impossible to even go to the bathroom without having someone there to take over for a few minutes. He had to be constantly supervised to prevent him from pulling out his IV or jumping out of the bed. In all of his misery, he slept very little and needed constant holding and comforting which ended up looking like wrestling much of the time. Jason's parents were so helpful to be with Jake and Ben or stay with one of us while we helped Sam. Jason or I have been with him constantly since he went to the hospital. Several friends and relatives also came to offer support or stay with us.
We spent a lot of time in the crib like this in order to help him get some rest.
It has been hard on our family to be so divided this week. It is hard for Jake and Ben to understand what is happening, but overall they are coping really well. Jason and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary on hospital day #7. He has demonstrated amazing endurance in the setting of terrible sleep deprivation as he has been with Sam nearly every night in the hospital and then spent his afternoons with the big brothers trying to perserve some sense of normalcy for them at home. What a blessing to be married to such a loving and self sacrificing man! I am certainly not complaining about a lack of romantic date for our anniversary.
Sam and Daddy with Sam's primary doctor who is also a friend of Daddy's from medical school.
It is hard to be a "medical parent" and we struggled to find the right balance of being appropriately involved and advocate for our child but to trust his doctors to make the final decisions for his care in the setting of debate and uncertainty about his diagnosis and treatment.
Over and over God showed us how he has protected Sam through this hospitalization, not only because he is getting better, but also through his orchestration of events to prevent Sam from undergoing certain tests and procedures that in hindsight would not have been necessary or helpful.
This experience has been a big perspective adjuster for us. We have been guilty of complaining about things being "hard" and "busy" as we anticipate the birth of our 4th child. Having a sick child in the hospital has been just a small glimpse and healthy reminder of how blessed we are. I know that many familes suffer far worse things. I want to have an attitude of joy in all circumstances and need God's grace to do this.
We spent a lot of time in the crib like this in order to help him get some rest.It has been hard on our family to be so divided this week. It is hard for Jake and Ben to understand what is happening, but overall they are coping really well. Jason and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary on hospital day #7. He has demonstrated amazing endurance in the setting of terrible sleep deprivation as he has been with Sam nearly every night in the hospital and then spent his afternoons with the big brothers trying to perserve some sense of normalcy for them at home. What a blessing to be married to such a loving and self sacrificing man! I am certainly not complaining about a lack of romantic date for our anniversary.
Sam and Daddy with Sam's primary doctor who is also a friend of Daddy's from medical school.It is hard to be a "medical parent" and we struggled to find the right balance of being appropriately involved and advocate for our child but to trust his doctors to make the final decisions for his care in the setting of debate and uncertainty about his diagnosis and treatment.
Over and over God showed us how he has protected Sam through this hospitalization, not only because he is getting better, but also through his orchestration of events to prevent Sam from undergoing certain tests and procedures that in hindsight would not have been necessary or helpful.
This experience has been a big perspective adjuster for us. We have been guilty of complaining about things being "hard" and "busy" as we anticipate the birth of our 4th child. Having a sick child in the hospital has been just a small glimpse and healthy reminder of how blessed we are. I know that many familes suffer far worse things. I want to have an attitude of joy in all circumstances and need God's grace to do this.
