Welcome December

It’s a new month. A fresh start. One that is badly needed.

I try to stay positive, look on the bright side, and deal with challenges as they come. But that not always easy. In fact, it’s HARD. And sometimes, it’s even harder.

November was full of challenges. It felt like we were just bouncing from one crisis to the next, without fully processing the previous.

November 1 started off with a bang. LU was admitted into the Children’s Hospital with RSV, a strep infection rash so bad it required a wound care team, low oxygen, and high heart rate. She was absolutely miserable, completely exhausted, and it was heart breaking. Thankfully we have an incredible hospital and medical team, and they got her stable with oxygen, meds, creams, and a treatment plan. She managed to suckered a popsicle out of pretty much every medical professional who entered her room in the ER AND on the admissions floor.

Due to our medical experiences, she was discharged after two days and one night with oxygen at home for when she sleeps. She’ll handled it all like a champ, like usual.

After her release, she was prescribed antibiotics that were also used int he hospital for her strep rash, plus a wound care cream and a barrier cream. The antibiotic is on a nationwide shortage so we had to switch to a different one. Let me tell you right now, that new one was an absolute nightmare. Even with creams upon creams, she ended up clearing the strep rash only to get another one that spread and only responded to burn creams. Which we resorted to after every single other type of cream failed. Diaper changes were horrific. This poor kidlet suffered, but kept pushing right through it all.

RSV took a lot out of her. It takes a lot of energy from your body to be sick. Her GI system is even more out of whack now. She’s on a waiting list to be seen by a developmental pediatrician for further testing, but that can take 6+ months. She’s now on continuous g tube feeds, but her body doesn’t like that, so throw in more belly pain and problems. It’s been a roller coaster.

She finally got healthy enough to go back to school for a few days before Fall break. She LOVES school. And they love her! Her teacher made a big “Get Well Soon” card signed by her classmates and staff and sent it home with her brother. The teacher emailed every day to check on her, and sent packets of fun things for her to do while she was stuck at home.

She is recovering. I think we will be seeing the effects of this virus for a long time.

As Fall break got ready to start, the weekend prior in fact, our big puppy, Mouse, suddenly and unexpectedly passed away. We do not know what happened. He was only 10 months old. What we do know is that we had an incredible 8 months with him, and he was loved beyond measure. And we now have a giant, Tibetan Mastiff shaped hole in our lives.

One hit after the next, and we keep pushing through. I hope that this month will move better, roll smoother, and at the very least ease up on the crises for a little while.