What am I talking about?
You know. You've had them too. A day that you file away as just a BAD day. You can't wait to go to bed and wake up the next morning, because tomorrow has got to be better than today!
Well, Wade World has been stuck in a day or week or maybe we are now onto the month that we just can't wake up from. (Imagine the movie "Groundhog Day")
Are you ready for this? Hold on...
I guess to tell this story right, I'm going to have to back up a little and then date everything?
Saturday night, October 22 -
Caleb had a LONG day! ACT test first thing in the morning and then right into the last two performances of "Leaving Iowa" the fall play at the high school. (By the way, he did a great job! He played the Dad. Oh! And I got an unexpected blessing! Quoting my son from the bio page, "I owe so much to the seniors of years past and to my mom, togehter they have taught me almost everything I know about being an actor.")
After the final performance, the cast struck the set and enjoyed celebrating their cast party which ended up including a game of "Zombies". (For all of you non-parents of a teenager, it is like tag and hide-n-seek combined.) Caleb was being pursued by five zombies. He ran out onto the stage area. They had him cornered at the edge of the stage. What could he do? Yes, the boy took a flying leap off the stage! Raced out of the auditorium and into the lobby. Fire hot pain begins shooting up his legs, and he crumples to the floor. Lying there in pain, one of his best friends lays his hand on Caleb's shoulder and asks if he's okay. "Are you a zombie?" Caleb responded. Yep, all that heroic effort for nothing because he was still ZOMBIFIED!
Does the boy call home?
NO!
He spent the rest of the night reclining on one of the theater couches. He drove home at 1:00am, woke up his parents to say, "Good-night," and went to sleep.
Sunday, October 23 -
Now in the morning light, still in pain, Caleb thought to mention that his heels REALLY HURT right before heading to work all day at the Worlds of Fun amusement park. Hmmmmm...take some ibuprofen and have a great day!
Monday, October 24 -
Caleb was still in lots of pain so I took him to the doctor's office. The nurse practitioner sent us out for x-rays of both heels. The x-rays didn't show any fractures so we found some heel inserts for his shoes to help relieve some of the pressure and he continued taking ibuprofen for the pain. End of story...or so we thought!
FAST FORWARD
Sunday, October 30 -
We got home from church, and the little girls went upstairs to potty and change clothes with the expectation that they come back downstairs for lunch. (Unfortunately, they often get distracted and forget all about eating) Time passes...then we hear a loud THUD...over the baby monitor we hear, "Don't tell Mom and Dad."
Nope! That is never a good sign.
Hadassah comes huffing and puffing downstairs, mad as an old wet hen. There is a LARGE goose egg forming on her forehead and a smaller red bump over her eye.
"What happened?!?"
"KEZIAH DID IT!"
Please note, I said she was MAD, but I didn't say she was crying. Not a tear. One of our issues that is related to her years of institutionalization is that Hadassah doesn't cry or cry much when she gets hurt. It's a learned behavior. No one answered her cries or kissed her boo-boos for so many years that she learned not to even bother.
Okay, so the offender finally added to the story. Keziah was styling her hair and didn't want Hadassah standing on the stool washing her hands at the same time. So she picked her up...and "accidentally" dropped her either into a doorknob, door, or the door frame...or all of the above.
Ice pack and Ibuprofen for one princess.
Time out for the the other.
Later in the evening, it's dinner time. Sunday night pizza and a movie or a footbal game! Plus I ordered some of Hadassah's favorite - BBQ wings! That girl can eat 10 or more all by herself! Exceept tonight, she barely ate one and said she was done.
MAMA RADAR FLASHING - WARNING! WARNING!
Something was not right. The-mom-meter felt her forehead and knew for certain something was wrong. The real thermometer confirmed the the littlest princess had a fever over 101.
I may be Dr. Mom, but I have not medical training outside of 17+ years of parenthood so I read over our family medical book, googled head injuries, and finally called the Ask-A-Nurse line. No, a fever and a head injury are usually not related, BUT if she vomitted then there would be no way to know what caused the vomitting without a trip to the ER. Hadassah got to enjoy the priviledge of sleeping on a palate in Mom and Dad's room, complete with a near-by "vomit bucket". Mom got to enjoy waking up our herself and our little sweetheart every two hours.
Monday, October 31 (Hadassah's 1st Halloween at home) -
With no clue what caused Hadassah's fever, my first call of the morning was to the doctor's office. No school and no school Halloween party for our little one.
Got to see the nurse practioner. Diagnosis - red sore throat, but not strep. Treatment - antibiotics.
The sweet nurse had also seen Caleb, so she asked how he was doing. Still lots of pain and not walking well. Hmmmmm...how about an MRI scheduled for Wednesday?
Okay, call us bad parents, but we did let ALL the kids go trick-or-treating. We kept it short for the little girls, but they had so much fun.
Later, Christopher complained that he wasn't feeling well. A tightness was developing in his chest. The thermometer revealed a slightly elevated temperature.
Then Keziah wasn't quite her usual perky self. Kissing her good night she felt fire hot. Fever!
(And Hadassah was still sleeping one more night in our room, post-head-injury, so I could wake her up and keep an eye on her.)
Tuesday, November 1 -
Keziah and Hadassah are home from school. Christopher called his doctor for an appointment and stayed home from work. Yes, this was amazing!
Christopher's doctor checked for strep and flu and did a chest x-ray. Diagnosis - PNEUMONIA! Plus the doc let Christopher know that it was going to get worse before it got better. Boo!
Keziah's fever was only controlled with Ibuprofen. Then in the late morning, she informs me that her chest hurt when she'd take a deep breath.
MOM ALERT FLASHING!
Immediately, I called the doctor to get her in. No strep, no flu, and off we trotted to get a chest x-ray. I'll give you one guess...PNEUMONIA!
So, I'm scrambling around to get meds for people, kids to and from activities, dinner on the table...OH!...and Elijah helped me exchange over 6 lbs. of Halloween candy for Chick-Fil-A coupons and $1 per pound at a local dentist's office so the candy could be used for Operation Gratitude and shipped to military personnel serving overseas.
Nine o'clock pm, Miranda calls after band practice for me to come pick her up...but she's crying and sounds like she's hyperventilating on the phone. "Mom, I got hit in the neck with the bell edge of a tuba tonight at practice, and I'm having trouble breathing."
Super-mom leaps into her SVU and drives the speed limit to the high school! Dash up the sidewalk into the lights of the PAC lobby to inspect my daughter's neck!
There weren't any red marks. On the drive home, I asked all the mom questions - When? How? Who? Did you tell an adult? The incident had happened around 7:00pm, but my sweet little girl didn't want to upset anyone. (Okay, she was then instructed that if you are having trouble breathing, it qualifies as an emergency and you can upset people to get your needs met.) Of course I asked how did she manage to play her piccolo for 2 more hours?!?! Uhm...not so well...and had to stop often.
So at home I've got two really sick people and a child having difficulty breathing and swallowing?
Yes, I panicked!!! I called the Ask-A-Nurse line...again. The whole "difficulty breathing" made the nurse STRONGLY encourage me to get her to the nearest ER as quickly as possible.
Christopher was a little hesitant, but I could not imagine letting Miranda go to sleep with restricted breathing. Too many what if's raced through my head.
Tucked everyone else into bed and took my big girl to the ER!
Miranda got to learn just how NOT fast an emergency room can be! Now, while still at home, I had Miranda ice her neck and take Ibuprofen to help reduce any pain and swelling. So by the time my now sleepy girl got to go back to see a doctor and get x-rays taken, she was feeling MUCH BETTER. However, we did get to enjoy telling the "Tuba Assaults Piccolo" story over and over and over to the surprise, smiles, and snickers of all the hospital staff we met. Thankfully, the final verdict was that she would be fine. Nothing broken. And since it was only a side-swipe of her neck and not a full-frontal attack, nothing was crushed or severely damaged. Sore for a few days, but A-okay.
Expect for the part where she didn't get home until almost 3:00am...
Wednesday, November 2 -
...ER doctor even advised she sleep in a bit in the morning and go to school a little late. Great for her! Not so great for the mama who was now totally running the household and infirmary solo and still had to get back up at 5:00am to get everyone else (excluding the patient Keziah) off to school. I did manage to sneak in a short nap in the afternoon before starting the pick-up taxi service because I felt so sick from lack of sleep.
Our biggest revelation of the day was that Christopher's prostate cancer surgery which was originally scheduled for November 9th had to be postponed due to his pneumonia. After waiting for so long, after putting our life on hold in so many ways until his surgery and recovery, this truly felt like a punch in the gut. Just the shock that it would not be happening, and also that we didn't know when it could be rescheduled.
Notice that Hadassah has broken out with a fever blister in the corner of her mouth. Seriously!!! How many viruses live in this little girl's body! Molluscum...Shingles...and now fever blisters!
So at 5:30pm, I take Caleb for the MRI on both of his heels...
You know it is not a good thing when one of the techs comes out to tell you that it looks like one heel is most likely broken, though they can't really tell you anything for legal reasons, and you NEED to call your doctor FIRST THING IN THE MORNING, and your son should stay off his foot as much as possible, and they are still completing the second foot.
After the second foot, I tried to ask the other tech about that one, but he was older and wiser and only told me to CALL YOUR DOCTOR FIRST THING IN THE MORNING!!!!
Thursday, November 3 -
So I drove my teenagers to school because I didn't think Caleb should be driving if he was supposed to stay off his feet as much as possible. Plus I had a feeling we'd be seeing a doctor soon and didn't want his car left in the school parking lot...just in case.
Get everybody else to school, except for Keziah and Christopher who were both still home with pneumonia, and start the doctor phone call drill at 8:30am. Easy one first - Hadassah's fever blisters! They phone out an ointment prescription (Retail cost - $500! With insurance - $100!) Of course my call beat the MRI results fax, but I got a really quick call back - both heels fractured!
Now we needed to see an orthopedic doctor ASAP! A 1:30pm appointment was scheduled for us. My mind was racing as to how I could get from the appointment to pick up kids at 3:00pm...but the two locations were fairly close and surely this appointment wouldn't take more than one hour?
So yes, I did have to call my very sick husband and have him drag himself out of bed to pick up Elijah and Hadassah from school, because our little visit ended up taking FOUR HOURS before we got to come home.
Caleb had fractured his right heel and had micro-fractures in the left heel. The right foot was put in a cast, and the left foot was just supposed to have minimal pressure placed only on the ball of the foot. The doctor's original recomendation was for Caleb to stay home from school for an entire week!
I normally handle all the doctor medical stuff well. But not on this day, I was already at maximum capacity. I truly went into a state of shock or maybe it was a total meltdown. I'm sitting with a 17-year-old, six foot and two inches tall, 150 plus pound, mutant man-boy and have been told he baskically can't walk for over a week!
So I'm trying to text the situation to Christopher for some wise counsel. He insists that Caleb needs to go to school. Caleb actually wants to go to school. So I get to ask the doctor what we need to do to make that happen. Uhm, the response that it would be "against medical advice" rocked my world, again. But still we attempted to work out a plan - crutches and a wheelchair became necessary.
Boy, did I get to learn a lot...FAST! Downstairs to the medical equipment store with my boy in a hospital use only wheelchair. We could get crutches, and the special cast shoe, and something to cover his cast so he could take a shower...but this store didn't sell wheelchairs. Oh, and at 5:30pm, no other wheelchair store is open that might take our insuarance.
Whatever your feelings about social media, I'm forever grateful to Facebook and a wonderfully generous friend! I put out an ALL CALL for wheelchair help. In a flash, we had an offer of a loaner. Of course, I couldn't go get it because by now I've thrown food at the family and am dashing to make it to Miranda's band concert so she doesn't feel unloved or forgotten. Again the sick-o hubby had to drag himself out of bed to meet up for the wheelchair pick up.
In all of this, Keziah was feeling better and had no fever, so I thought I'd send her back to school on Friday...(Can you feel the "but" coming by now?)...BUT she has some funky rash that has broken out in one spot on her chin about the size of a quater.
Oh! And since Caleb now has a major heel issue, Josiah decides to remind us that his heels still hurt from whatever unknown injury he experienced during football/cross country season.
Friday, November 4 -
Taking Caleb to school in a wheelchair so I could chat with his counselor about his new "situation" was the first stop of the day. Did I mention that he is taking Social Dance and Swimming, and needs these credits for graduation? Thankfully, he has a great relationship with her and all the office staff since his Chinese IV class is online and he has to be in the office every day to use the computers.
Dropping off Caleb made me totally aware that we now NEEDED a handicapped parking pass. So add calling the orthopedic doctor's office to my list of things to do.
Run Elijah and Hadassah to school while starting the doctor's office phone call drill...again.
Back in to see the nurse practitioner...again. Keziah? Some strange unknown rash. Probably contact dermitius from some unknown allergen. (I now suspect that it might have been a reaction to her antibiotic. Who knows?)
I also mentioned Josiah's complaint about his heels. Only way to know anything - X-RAY! Dropped Keziah back off at home with her sick Daddy, and picked up Josiah from school for a little x-ray field trip. His ended up being okay, but he hated the prescription for pain relief and healing - no physical activity for a week! Josiah is my ball boy, my sports-adict! The reality of no P.E. for one week crushed him.
I put Christopher on wheelchair phone call duty from his sick bed. When he finally located a shop that worked with our insurance, he discovered it would have cost us $400 to buy a chair, and it was over an hour's drive away. (Thanks again for a good friend who let us keep the loaner!)
The orthopedic doctor's office didn't call me back after I left a message for a nurse so we had to call back in the afternoon. Guess what else I got the learn about today? How to take a doctor's form to the DMV to pay for your temporary handicapped tag before they close for the weekend.
Oh! And Caleb was already committed to drive his cappie friends to see a musical Friday night for review. They had to scramble to find another driver, and I got to shuttle my "disabled" son to and from the performance (40 minute trip...one way). Caleb did begin his education that evening about how difficult life can be from a wheelchair - steep ramps and "special" seating that isolates you.
Today, we found out that Christopher's surgery was now delayed until January 4th. So many other patients trying to get surgeries completed before the end of the year. It was like a totally new devastation! By the time he has surgery, we will have been waiting for six months!
Saturday, November 5 -
I'm honestly just trying to breath today. Surely it has all got to stop. Right?
Then I was notified that my grandmother passed away.
Sunday, November 6 -
I still have to lead Children's Worship! Christopher and Caleb needed to stay home. The plan was for me to take the rest of the kids.
When we go to wake up Hadassah, we find her bed covered in explosive poop!
I think that qualified as a symptom requiring her to stay home. So we also added another recovery day in for Keziah. Two girls to stay home with the two biggest "boys".
BUT I had some concerns about You Tube videos I wanted to use for Children's Worship. So the new plan was for sick-o Christopher to take the three well kids to church and quickly get everything techie set up for me. He would then come home, and we'd switch.
Tick...tock...tick...tock...
Time was passing and finally, I had to leave the house or I wouldn't have time to get to church. I left my two littlest, sick girls at home with the dog and my biggest, wheelchair-bound boy.
Technical difficulties became the theme of the day! Exhausted, Christopher finally went home after working on it for over one and a half hours, thinking Josiah could handle it for me. I never got to show my kids the videos and had to promise them that I would make sure they could see them in two weeks.
Monday, November 7 -
I'm still the primary parent in our household. Though usually Christopher likes to be the man of steel and let nothing get him down, this pneumonia has knocked him out. He can only get up and function for two or three hours at a time.
With Caleb wheelchair-bound, he has to be driven to and from school. Can I just say that wheelchairs are awkward and heavy!! And today starts the auditions for the high school musical performance of "Brigadoon". Both Caleb and Miranda were trying out. Monday night - DANCE auditions! Yep, he went in the wheelchair. Couldn't dance, but could "learn" the moves so he'd know what to expect.
Tuesday, November 8 -
Christopher went back to see his doctor and had another chest x-ray to check on the pneumonia in his lungs. Though he was moving more air (good thing), the doctor was concerned about the x-ray results. Christopher still had spots on his lungs so the doctor ordered a CT scan in order to rule out possible lung cancer.
The C-word...again! We have already watched his mother and grandmother die from lung cancer! I did cry, and I did freak out a bit. Took a deep breath, let God have the burden back, and waited for the scan and the results.
So I got everybody picked up and home from everything. Then I quickly rushed Miranda, Josiah, and Elijah into presentable clothes so we could drive to the visitation for my grandmother. I could only take the healthiest kids with me. No wheelchairs, no pneumonia patients, and no Chinese princesses. It was good to have a chance to see and visit with family from both near and far...and to continue asking for more prayer warriors.
Wednesday, Novmeber 9 -
In so many ways this was just a hard day! On the original plan, this was supposed to be Christopher's surgery day. Now it was his, CT scan day...to check for more cancer.
Mixed in with all the insanity of trying to get everybody everywhere, I had to go to my grandmother's funeral alone. With kids in school, big kid in a wheelchair, Caleb and Miranda auditioning, and Christopher still minimally functioning, I was alone.
Some how Chritopher managed without me for a few hours. Plus he had the added blessing of his best friend from high school coming in town. Originally, he had planned to be here for the surgery. Instead, we all just got to enjoy dinner out and a bit of a break...
...Right up until Christopher's cell phone rang at 7:30pm in the restaurant with a call from his doctor's office. I think my heart may have stopped. I know I stopped breathing for a moment or two. The call was just to report that his bloodwork looked good. No CT results yet. (Note to doctors - Don't call patients at night to tell them nothing when they are waiting to hear about cancer. It can wait until morning.)
Thursday, November 10 -
We finally got the results of the CT scan.
Ever read the children's book or played the game, Fortunately, Unfortunately?
Good news - The lungs looked okay. Just pneumonia!
Bad news - The renal lymph nodes appear enlarged. His PCP was going to check with the urologist, but the recomendation was to have another, more detailed CT scan of the lymph nodes...to rule out cancer.
Are you getting tired of the C-word yet?
Cried a few more tears and called in my prayer warriors again. Gave it back to God. He's the one writing this story.
Caleb had another appointment with the orthopedic doctor. His right foot got a new cast. His left foot got a BOOT. He got to get out of the wheelchair and onto his crutches. (I still remained the royal taxi driver.)
Callbacks for the musical got rescheduled due to a family emergency for the vocal music director.
Friday, November 11 -
After waiting almost six months, I finally got to take Hadassah to an appointment with a "poop therapist"! I know it sounds totally odd, but we've still not made any "potty training" progress. Our appointment with the GI doctor, back in August, was a total bust because he didn't give us any real treatment plan. He just sent us on to wait for a "poop therapy" appointment. No great miracles happened, but at least we are at a new beginning point. More work ahead....
*****
Nothing major at least for a day or so. Christopher is still not able to be up and about for more than a few hours, still struggling. Keziah has been "okay" the past week. She's at school where she needs to be but is worn out after lunch each day. Caleb is the cripple on crutches.*****
Sunday, November 13 -
The youth led Children's Worship for me. We had planned this in advance because I needed a break if Christopher had surgery. It was hard for me not to be with all "my kids"! So I snuck downstairs to listen and just spent the time praying for them all. However, I must admit that the break was nice. I got to sleep in a few more hours on Sunday morning. Ah!
With all of the extra time in bed, Christopher did some Google research about words like "renal" and "lymph nodes" and "cancer". The results were frightening. He became HIGHLY motivated to help his doctors make a decision about this CT scan.
Monday, November 14 -
Caleb attended callback auditions...on crutches!
Tuesday, November 15 -
Cast list posted! Caleb has a main role, and Miranda is part of the chorus!!! (Yep! One proud mama!)
Wednesday, November 16 -
Christopher already had another folow up appointment with his PC doctor, so he pushed to get that CT scan immediately. Yucky red stuff swallowed...long wait...but it was done! Now just more waiting for results.
Thursday, November 17 -
CT results - The enlarged lymph nodes look like they are probably just fighting the pneumonia. Maybe get another scan in six months just to be safe, but for now he is only fighting one form of cancer!
Friday, November 18 -
Caleb saw his doctor again. No more cast! He gets to switch the boot to the right foot and wear a normal shoe on his left foot. Semi-normal walking! However, still no major physical activity, no running, no dancing, no leaping off stages...and still no driving.
*****
So, if you made it all the way to the end of this...
WOW!
Life is CRAZY!
Life is CRAZY!
God is GOOD!
Wade World is still here.
I still have tons of good stuff to catch up on from the fall.
Christopher is still not 100% but is hoping to get back to work on this short week after almost three weeks at home. He has requested to be placed on a "waiting list" if an earlier surgery date opens up.
Thanksgiving is just days away...and we have so much that we just keep thanking God for! Even in the insanity, I started praising him for His wisdom in the pneumonia postponing Christopher's surgery! There would have been no way I could have managed Caleb's broken heels and Christopher recovering from surgery at the same time! His timing is always perfect! I just can't always see it!
Oh Lara
ReplyDeleteI am sorry for all you have been facing. It seems impossible.
Prayers for healing for your precious family. I am adding you to the top of my list!
Hugs, Leslie