We're home!

See that top number up there?  That number was Jacob's oxygen saturation on Monday.  And that number - if it hangs around for a while - means you get to go home.  :)

Sunday night was SOOO much better than Saturday night.  I'm pretty sure Jacob and I both slept through the entire night.  I have a vague, foggy memory of the respiratory therapist coming in at one point and telling Jacob to turn over so she could give him his breathing treatment, but that's ALL I remember, because....

NO ALARMS! (praise God!)

and....

NO crying baby next door!  (thank goodness!)

and....

If anyone else besides the RT came in during the night, they were VERY QUIET! (thank You, Jesus!)

About 6:45 Monday morning, I was startled awake by the nurse very firmly saying, "MOM." (that would be me)

She said, "Sometime during the night Jacob pulled his oxygen off."  Ohmygosh! I bolted up in the bed cot.

"But," she said, "his oxygen is at 95 (!), so I'm just going to leave it off and see how he does."

And just like that....the emergency was over.  It was the weirdest thing.

Jacob's oxygen level continued to stay between 91 and 96 all day, without receiving any extra oxygen, and we got to come home around 4:00.

Jacob and Kloe and I went out for a walk around the hospital Monday afternoon while we were waiting to go home, and just happened to run into Jacob's regular pediatrician, Dr. Gray (remember, he had been out of town?).  He said that the attending doctor from the hospital (Dr. Thompson, WE LOVE YOU!!!) had called him when he got back into town, and he had come up to the hospital just to check on Jacob.  See, I told you he's the greatest. :)

Well, it just so happens that Dr. Gray knows Dr. Thompson very well, works with her in several different capacities, and highly respects her work!  He said if he could have hand-picked anyone to care for Jacob, it would have been her.

Anyway, we were talking about all that had happened, how they couldn't really figure out what was causing all this, and how they'd finally diagnosed it as "Atypical Pneumonia" - which apparently is the diagnosis when it LOOKS like pneumonia and ACTS like pneumonia, but the chest xray is clear and they've ruled out everything else.  He said he agreed with that diagnosis and that the good thing is that atypical pneumonia responds very quickly to azithromycin (antibiotic).

Well, it just so happens that just in case that's what it was, the hospitalist (Dr. Thompson) had started Jacob on azithromycin on Sunday afternoon.  Yes, I would say it responded pretty quickly!  Less than 24 hours after starting it, he was a new kid!  In less than 24 hours, he was completely off oxygen, without being weaned off, and was almost back to his old self.  I was in shock.  Good shock.

Y'all, I am just so amazed at God through all of this.  I know this was such a small thing compared to what some people face every day, but even so, God made Himself SO very evident in every. single. step. of this journey.  From the moment those blue fingernails scared the bajeebers out of me, to that last conversation with our pediatrician. I am more thankful and awe-filled than I can even say.  So, so thankful.

********************************************************

p.s.  Guess what?  One of the papers they sent us home from the hospital with listed warning signs to be on the lookout for....you know, the "call your doctor immediately if...." list.  The last item on the list?  Blue fingernails.

Bringing home Mareto

Oh my goodness, this is one of the most beautiful adoption videos I've ever seen. I cried and cried through this video...and I don't even know these people. :) Grab a tissue and watch....

A New Year's Eve to Remember

Your love, Oh Lord, reaches to the heavens.

Your faithfulness stretches to the sky.

Your righteousness is like the mighty mountain.

Your justice flows like the ocean's tide.

And I will lift my voice

to worship You, my King.

I will find my strength

in the shadow of Your wings.

~ Third Day

Christmas morning (Sunday) Jacob woke up with that nasty, seal-barky kind of cough. As the day went on though, it seemed to clear up and even go away completely. Thought maybe it was...well, I dunno, just a weird something-er-other.

On Monday morning, he woke up with that same cough again. This time he coughed and coughed and coughed all. day. long. But the seal-barky-ness (actual medical term) went away and it was mostly just a dry, hacking cough.

Monday night I went in to check on him around midnight, and he was just moaning and moaning in his sleep. I felt his head and sure enough, he was burning up.

Tuesday I stayed home from work with him, and he continued to run fever all day, cough his little head off, and generally feel awful, so I took him to the doctor (for the cough, mind you) on Wednesday. He tested positive for strep, and that seemed to be the end of it as far as the doctor was concerned (not our regular doctor, mind you. HE, of course, would have been MUCH more diligent. ;)) She said, "Whelp, he has strep." And that was that.

Ok, he'd had no symptoms of strep, but I know sometimes it can be sneaky.

I asked, "Um, what about his cough?"

She said, "It's probably just from the drainage and the swelling. It should clear up in a few days."

I was completely unconvinced that it would, but who am I to argue with a doctor, right?

Well guess what. It didn't. He continued to cough his everlovin head off, lie listlessly on the couch, and run fever throughout the day Wednesday, Wednesday night, all day Thursday, and Thursday night. We kept asking him over and over, "Does your throat hurt? Does your head hurt? Does your chest hurt when you cough? Does anything hurt?" He kept saying no, no, no, nothing hurts, but "I'm just so tired."

Sick, sick little boy. :(

He was mis.er.able. during the night Thursday, coughing and moaning and whimpering, sweating like crazy...just all around MISERABLE. I decided I would take him back to the doctor on Friday.

For the cough.

But then, on Friday morning he woke up feeling better! Not WELL, but better. His fever seemed to be breaking, he was sitting up, having conversations, laughing at TV. I thought ok, maybe he's starting to get better.

Friday night was worse than Thursday night. In fact, I stayed up almost the entire night just sitting by him, trying to keep his head elevated a little to help with the cough, toweling him off when he got soaked from the sweating....it was another looong and miserable night. During the night something happened that convinced me we were going to the doctor on Saturday no matter how he felt....I noticed his fingernails were tinted blue.

Scared. the. bajeebers. out of me.

Saturday morning was just like Friday. He seemed to be feeling a little better, fever was down, talking more, blah blah blah. I almost changed my mind about the doctor. But PRAISE GOD He wouldn't let that little niggling in the back of my mind go away. (Praise #1) Thinking about the fact that everywhere would be closed on Sunday, or for that matter much after noon on Saturday, I finally dragged myself around and started getting ready to go.

By the time we were ready to leave, Jacob was lying on the couch again, running fever, and quickly heading back to a state of miserableness. I picked him up (all 51 pounds, 4 feet 3 inches of him) and carried him to the car.

We went to the only clinic I could find open - one I don't particularly love - and sat in the waiting room for about an hour and a half. The whole time I prayed, "God, please let us get a doctor who will take this seriously, who will listen and pay attention and not just blow this off." Because THAT would be the reason I don't particularly love that particular clinic in the first place.

When it was finally our turn, the nurse put an oxygen monitor on Jacob's finger, and as she asked questions and typed info in the computer, she calmly kept glancing at the number on the monitor. Finally, she got up, said, "That number's just not going up," and left the room.

A few seconds later the doctor walked in with a determined, focused look on her face, looked at the monitor, and started listening to Jacob's lungs. She asked me about 2 questions, almost not waiting for my answers, moved to the computer, moved back, and said, "I'm gonna go ahead and call an ambulance."

Um, WHAT?

She continued explaining "oxygen on the way there" and "his body working too hard" and something something something. I don't remember anything else she said. It was sort of like how the adults sound on Charlie Brown.

Because my mommy ears stopped functioning properly at "ambulance".

I would say she took us seriously. :) Praise #2.

For one brief moment I felt it coming. The panic. The fear. The tears. I really thought I was going to break down right there while the doctor was explaining what was going on.

And then I just....didn't. I thought, "No, STOP, I'm not going to do this." And I didn't. If you know me very well at all, you know that is huge for me. Huge. It wasn't a big, dramatic, spiritual-fight moment where I was frantically grasping for that peace I claim Jesus gives me (like usual)....I just stopped. Praise #3. God was so gracious.

And in the blink of an eye - a blink - the EMTs were in the room. (Praise #4) Like, I almost wondered if they'd actually driven there or if they just stay at the clinic all the time. And just about as soon as one EMT started talking to Jacob, there were suddenly three FIREMEN walking in! (Does the fire department respond to ambulance calls where you live, too?) When I saw them I started to panic a little. Just for a second. But then they left, and I was good.

The EMTs were so calming and reassuring and all-around awesome. The ambulance was in terrible need of some new shocks, but otherwise awesome. :D If it hadn't been so scary, I think Jacob would have thought it was really cool. :)

Yes, I took a picture in the ambulance.  Does that mean I'm a bad mom?

When we got to the ER (which is actually called ED now, did you know that?) we were whisked right into a room, greeted by three (!) wonderful, kind, attentive hospital staff (2 nurses and a clerical person), and well....the whole experience was wonderful. If an ED visit can be wonderful.

Between the clinic, the ambulance, and the ED, Jacob received four breathing treatments and two rounds of steroids. Nothing was budging his blood oxygen level, so they decided to admit him to the hospital. Poor, sweet baby, he was so scared. :(

And so Jacob rang in the new year with a toast of 4 liters of oxygen per minute, an O2 monitor and an IV port.

E.T. anyone? :)

And I am praising God that he did! WHAT if I had not taken him to the doctor yesterday?! (Praise #5)

Whew! I just thought Thursday and Friday nights were rough! Last night we had his O2 alarm going off what felt like every 30 minutes, nurses and residents and respiratory therapists coming in at ALL hours of the night taking vitals, listening to his lungs, changing his oxygen, putting him on a mask.... Good grief!

So...here's the low down. They don't know what caused it. Well, yes, it was whatever virus he had last week, but they don't know WHY it caused such a bad reaction. He doesn't have asthma, his lungs are clear, no wheezing, no pneumonia, chest x-ray is good... They can't find any reason for his low oxygen.

And it's still low. Even right now he's getting 3 liters of O2 per minute, and his saturation rate is only 89% (it was 84% at the clinic yesterday - should be 100). They've done bloodwork and an x-ray and a viral panel, and everything they test for is negative. Which is GOOD, but....

The doctor says we can't go home until Jacob's saturation rate stays above 92 for EIGHT HOURS while receiving no oxygen. Right now we can't keep it above 92 for eight SECONDS without receiving oxygen. (ok, maybe a minute or two)

He is feeling SO much better, was joking and laughing hysterically at his sister today, and even got up and went for a walk, but we just can't keep his O2 rate up.

Would you pray for him? He looks healthy, he feels good, but something's just not working the way it's supposed to. It could just be that his body got so worn down during the time he was sick last week that it's taking some time to recover. I'm praying that's it, and that God will strengthen him and restore him. We're HOPING we'll get to go home tomorrow.

In the meantime, he's eating up all the attention he's getting here. He actually gets to order his meals off a menu from room service. He's been having a blast with the electric bed (up and down and up and down, feet up, head up, feet down....) He gets to watch non-stop Phineas and Ferb and Bugs Bunny/Roadrunner. My mom brought him a whoopie cushion (ohmygosh) and he's received balloons from two family members. What more could a boy want? ;)

I think we're on the downhill side, but please pray the Lord will fill up Jacob's lungs and saturate his blood with oxygen, and then strengthen his body to maintain it.

We've been so blessed by all of our wonderful friends and family. I've received text after text and phone call after phone call from friends offering their love, help, support, and prayers. You all can't know how much that means to us and how much it helps me stay at peace. I'm SO very thankful for every one of you!

********************************************

P.S. Another gift from God just for me? Look who's right outside the door to Jacob's room :

*Smile*

Dear Diary....

This post is nothing other than a bunch of rambling.  What has been mulling through my head in a constant stream for the past few weeks.  What I would write in my journal if I kept one.  But since I don't, it all gets to go here.  Let the ramblings begin....

Dear Diary,

I am still in shock that SixtyFeet is coming here.  Stunned.  I couldn't be more excited if it were the leadership from World Vision or Compassion International or Samaritan's Purse who was coming.  I don't know why.  I don't understand it. 

All I know is that the burden in my heart for SixtyFeet - the heart connection with their ministry and what they do - began long before I ever set foot in Uganda.  I distinctly remember the night in April when our mission team had our second conference call.  That night we learned that we would be the first "outside" mission team to ever work with a fairly new ministry called SixtyFeet.

As soon as the conference call was over and the kids were in bed, I went straight to the website and sat for hours poring over blog posts, videos, and pages about their story, the team, and what they're doing in Uganda.  Hours.  Something struck in me the minute I saw the first picture of M1. I think I read every. single. word. on their website that night.  Twice. 

Our first night in Uganda, Moses, the in-country director of SixtyFeet, came to the boarding house where we were staying to talk to us about what we would be doing at the prisons.  I was mesmerized by his every word, captivated by his testimony and his story of how he came to work with SixtyFeet.  I couldn't get enough. 

The next day it took us about an hour to travel to M1 by bus.  As my teammates and I visited and laughed and made small talk, the back of my mind never strayed far from thoughts about where we were going and what it would be like there.  When we turned off the highway onto the long dirt road that leads to M1, it became more quiet, subdued on the bus, and I think I probably didn't say anything at all for the rest of the ride.
 

And when we came up over the hill....and there in front of us was the exact same building I had looked at over and over again on the SixtyFeet website....my eyes instantly filled with tears.  Such a place of desolation, hopelessness, abandonment.  And the tears weren't far from my eyes for the rest of our time there.

When we left M1 that day, part of my heart stayed there.  I don't know why.  For the rest of the trip, they were never far from my thoughts.  I was so excited when Moses came back to visit with us on our last night in Uganda.  We were able to pray for him and bless him and SixtyFeet with some extra donations.  It was the best.

And then came the day when I read on their blog that they were having a contest to determine what three cities they would visit on their Awareness Tour.  Oh my goodness, did I want to win that contest!  I wanted them to come here so badly!  Just to have a chance to get to know the people who started this ministry that had become so huge in my heart, and to become more involved in what they are doing.  I didn't think there was any possibility whatsoever that we could win, but WE DID!!

It has been quite an ordeal making arrangements for a place for them to show the film and do their presentation.  In fact, we're still in limbo even now.  There are times when I wonder if it really is going to work out at all.  There have been times when I thought they surely would get tired of waiting on me and change their minds about coming (we were #4 in the contest, after all).

Just when I thought we had the place and time confirmed, something came up and SixtyFeet had to reschedule.  So far we haven't been able to find another time that will work with our church.  *sigh*  I'm not a naturally optimistic person, so I'm really having to fight my inclination to just say, "See?  I knew it wouldn't work.  That's it."  I'm trying.  I'm praying.  I'm hoping...  And hopefully, I'm learning.  Learning to leave things in God's hands and trust Him to accomplish His plan - whether that's what I want it to look like or not.

I don't know if God really has anything planned for me to do with this ministry at all.  I've read story after story of people who went on mission trips and then came home and joined a ministry they had visited...or started a ministry of their own...or became involved in with missions in some other way.  I so want that to be me.  But I don't know.

Maybe all of this is only about spreading the message of SixtyFeet to the people of West Texas.  Maybe there will be someone there that night - when we finally DO get it scheduled :) - whose heart will be moved to join the work of SixtyFeet in a huge way.  Maybe after they come and show their film, my part in the plan will be complete.

But then again...maybe not.

So this is was Christmas....

So....I tried to do a "12 Days of Christmas" theme for our Christmas photos, and that totally didn't work.  So here they are the boring ol' normal way. :)
 

Melting snowmen cookies - aren't they cute? :)

Kloe made a friend at the cookie-exchange party. :)

I was laughing because all the other kids in the Santa line were about 3 years old. :) 
My kids were embarrassed, but I made them sit on his lap anyway!

Kloe's first Christmas band concert.  So fun!  And so we come full circle.... :)

Treats for teachers. {and just a few for me :) }

We had two Christmases this year - our family Christmas on Friday morning, then we traveled to the Mister's mom and step-dad's house Friday night to spend Christmas with them.

At home....

Someone couldn't stand to be away from the presents. :)

Love. :)

My mom made me this awesome scrapbook-style cookbook with recipes from members of our family. Isn't it fun? I love it!

Santa must have known Jacob was in desperate need of a new football!


Old ball - poor thing! I had no idea it was in such bad shape!   Made me so sad
when I saw that he had tried to cover the end with packing tape. :(

New.  Much better. :) 



Kloe got a much-longed-for sit-n-scoot, aka Ezy Roller. :)

It was a great Christmas!

For round 2, we had originally planned to leave for my in-laws' on Saturday morning, but the weather forcast was changed to include 3-5 inches of snow during the night along the route we would be taking, so we left Friday evening instead. Good thing we left early! The roads were completely clear for about half of our trip, then literally, when we got to the half-way point and turned south, the roads were covered!  It snowed non-stop from Friday night through Sunday around lunch time.  We got about 8 inches!  But by Monday afternoon when we got ready to start home, it was almost all gone. :)

Isn't this cool?  A tidal wave of snow coming off the roof.

Bet these cactus (cacti?) aren't used to seeing snow!

Best. Mother-in-law. Ever. :)

Hoping you all had a wonderful Christmas, filled with the love and presence of Jesus, in whom we live and move and have our being.

Merry Christmas!

Love.


Love.


Merry Christmas, friends. Praying the true purpose of our celebrating will fill your homes this year.

Gift

Dear Valerie,

Good Morning.....Surprise!

Happy Birthday!

Love,
God

Five for Friday - Happy Dance Edition

It's cold, cloudy, and spittin' something out of the sky here in our neck of the woods today.  Oh how I would love to have all my bloggy friends come curl up on the couch and share a cup of warm apple cider with me.  (Ok, not actually share a cup, but you know what I mean.)

This week's Five for Friday is all about Happy Dances.  Don't ya love it? :)

1. My Aunt Donna from Colorado came into town on Wednesday and we met her and some other family members at a restaurant for dinner.  My mom didn't go eat with us, but Aunt Donna had stopped by Mom's house before dinner.  When we got to the restaurant, Aunt Donna said, "I left a surprise for you at your mom's house, and you have to have it by December 1st, so be sure to go by there and pick it up on the way home."  Hmmm....by December 1? Any guesses? (*BIG smile*)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Love love love love. Remember two years ago when we first planned to do a Jesse Tree? Yeah, well, we never did. Surprised? I couldn't ever decide on a book, and I never had the time to print out all the ornaments, and I didn't know what we'd do for the tree, and blah blah blah. But now! we! have! one! My Aunt Donna said she was just about to leave her house when she felt the Lord telling her to go back and get this and bring it to us. God is so cool. :)
   
   *Happy Dance*
   
   
2. Got this in the mail this week:
   
   
   
   
   
   *Happy Dance!*
   
   
3. The children's ministry at our church had a coat drive last month and asked families to bring coats that would then be donated to a local community clothes closet.
   
   Jacob asked his teacher at school if he could put up a poster asking people to donate coats. Somehow the question got passed along to the school counselor, who asked Jacob if he thought there might be also kids at school who need coats. That conversation led to Jacob taking the lead in organizing a coat drive at school FOR kids at school.
   
   The counselor interviewed him about the coat drive on the school's morning news last Wednesday, and he made this poster that is hanging in the front foyer of the school (phone pics = not great):
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Isn't it cute? Look at the little man shivering on the right with his hat and mittens on. Cute, right? See the little line coming out of his head? It's like a word bubble, but it just looks like a bunch of wiggle lines. I asked Jacob what it was. He said, "Those are "C's"....the man is saying "CCCCCCC" because he's cold." :)
   
   Love that kid.
   
   *Happy Dance*
   
   
4. Did you know if you buy a Wal*mart gift card and use it to buy gas, you get 10 cents off per gallon?
   
   *Super Happy Dance!!*
   
   
5. This discount on gas makes me especially happy nowadays, because....
   
   BEFORE[(= me being a dork :)]:
   
   
   
   
   AFTER:
   
   
   
   
   *HAPPY, HAPPY DANCE!!*