Deja vu

So this weekend was one of those moments you say to yourself "haven't I done this one before, and it wasn't fun the first time!" So then you know your in for a treat. Luckily, somehow I picked a career out of this kind of thing! I truly have a testimony that Heavenly Father really does know me better than I do, and my future for that matter.

We were plagued on Thursday with the dreaded "throw-up bug" with Corbin. Like most of you we tried to get over it at home and a visit to the Doctor (who even gave us zophran) yet this guy wasn't getting any better. For two days he was completely lethargic- he couldn't even hold up his own head. When he was awake he was moaning in pain, and if he happened to fall asleep it was short lived. So you can imagine how our sleep was! We even made a little bed in his room and took turns camping out with him! Sounds fun huh! So by Saturday I knew we had to help this kid out and our home remedies were just not going to cut it. So I took him into work with me! I know, not what you thought! Not really, I was supposed to work in the CED (Children's Emergency Department) on Saturday but instead we decided to be "secret shoppers." "No big deal" I tell myself, "a little IV and we are outta hear." But then the dreaded words which I have heard before "He is not responding to his IV fluids and there is something else going on." For those of you who don't know we spent a week in the Hospital with Dylan when he turned two because of a stomach bug that turned into what they think was a kidney infection (in his ONLY kidney) which technically put him into "kidney failure" and we were lucky to finally get a nephrostomy tube surgically inserted through his back into his Kidney to allow it to work again! Whew! So after a bundle of "normal" ER visits in the past I thought those days were over! Here I am completely mystified. The ER Doctor abruptly declares she needs to look at his stool (luckily there was a time size one in there) and she automatically new what was up (FYI- if your kid has gelatenous stools go to the ER EMMEDIATELY!). She sent us immediately over to ultrasound and Xray to confirm her suspensions. And yes, Corbin also had Intussiception. As I understand it, the lymph nodes in his bowels were inflamed due to his virus and bowls then inverted themselves. The chief radiologist explained to me that he had to try to uninvert them immediately and if he was not successful, surgery was critical. I phoned Connor and he was blinded that our innocent IV trip had turned to surgery! He got the phone tree rolling and prayers were in the works. And I know that those prayers were answered! The radiologist then proceeded to insert a cath into Corbin's rectum, tape the cheeks tightly together to decrease the chance of Corbins body pushing it out. He then used the radiology equipment to inflate the cath tube in the right place and try to pull the lining back into place. This was unsuccessful. The radiologist then proceeded to try the same procedure only using a liquid. Corbin being such a trooper did not like any of this but he was so exhausted that he would sporadically fall asleep during all of this! The radiologist was able to move it only slightly and therefore he mournfully told me that surgery was the only thing that could fix it from here. This was the first moment I really melted. The poor kid already had surgery this week! We had to wait an hour or more for the pediatric surgeon to make it from his hold up at UNC to us. Meanwhile, Corbin slept surprisingly soundly for an hour. When he woke he was able to sit slightly. As we were prepping for surgery the ER Doc looked at him and told me that there is a small percentage of kids bodies that self univert themselves and because he seemed to be doing slightly better she wanted to just double check. I was all for it. We went in for another ultrasound and it was true! Corbin's body had used that little move done by the Radiologist combined with a really relaxed nap and it did it! So we got to go "relax" upstairs on the peds unit where I was able to chat with more of my CLS peers. I can't tell you how much more I learn every time about my career by being on this side. Corbin was also excited (understatement of the year) to finally be able to have a drink. During the day Corbin had spied my cup and the faucet (that are in just about every room in the hospital) and couldn't think about anything else. He was parched. He downed that pedialite, which I hear is disgusting, but he won't even touch it now! He sure did have a death grip on that bottle though. And boy was I SO happy to finally have him nurse again, after few days I was having my own swelling going on!
We are glad to say we are at home, Corbin is doing great and almost back to normal. We have many great friends who have taken care of us and we are so grateful to all of those who helped us with blessings and prayers! We know this was an answer to them!

Now tell me how I can't get scared in future episodes of the innocent "stomach bug?"

Might I say he makes this gown look super cute and I ALMOST wanted to take it home with me! I also found it very funny to watch him try to feed himself with his arm that had the IV in it (his elbow was tapped to a board so it couldn't be bent.) And he couldn't get enough of that fish tank!

Night Out

Corbin and I were lucky enough to get a night out together. Just me and him, a good mother son outing. It was great bonding time. We even got to stay at this amazing Hotel! Granted it was a very expensive Hotel with only one small bed and a very uncomfortable chair. But there were lots of buttons and gadgets, pre-warmed blankets, a nice flat screen TV and a few people at our beck and call. Here is where we stayed Thursday night...

It is hard to tell from the picture but it is our local ER. We are so lucky to have one just 2 minutes down the road from us, and brand-spank'in new!

We got to go see their beautiful radiology room. I got to experience an infant chest x-ray, great for my Child Life profile!

Right now my brother, Nate, is laughing and thinking I am crazy for taking one of my children, AGAIN to the ER. Really I do feel like a frequent visitor of these places as of late (and I have visited them around the country!). However, I have all evidence. A month ago Corbin came down with a cold which ended in an ear infection, no big deal. But he was also having a very hard time breathing. I thought that was in the past until out-of-the-blue, Corbin practically has a breathing attack Thursday night and can't breath. I rush him in, I was frustrated with the lack of rushing from the nurses. But after all the tests, we found that Corbin has pneumonia, and an ear infection. So our fridge is stocked with meds (steroids and antibiotics) and Here is the newest addition to our family...

a nebulizer to give Corbin his breathing treatments. Let's just hope that this is just pneumonia and no indicator of asthma!

So just as we were getting Corbin to sleep through the night, we are back to square one- or are we in the negative seeing as we have no choice but to get up and take care of his wheezing and mom is still trying to make of for the lost night.

Roll after Roll

This picture can show you the reason we had to take Corbin into the ER on Sunday. I don't know if it is in the genes or if it solely based on the possible "pure cream" I produce. All of my babies have quickly become rather chubby. I can not complain because chubby babies are quite cute and lovable. However, it has raised a few concerns for us. These rather numerous rolls under the chin make for a rather wonderful and ideal conditions for a yeast infection to grow. It is warm, often moist and free from air! It started early last week. I did not think much of it because we have battled this before. I just layered the red creases with some left over yeast medication. But it got worse through the week. A talk with a nurse left us trying some other options to try. Little did I know that corn starch actually feeds yeast infections!!! So after a long day of a very sad little boy (one who is never sad unless he has good reason) we ended up taking him in for a visit. I feel like the nurses in the ER should know me by now (after Dylan and Ashlyn's episode in the fall)! It is slowly getting better with a new and improved Nystatin powder!!!

I really can't complain. Corbin has been a GREAT baby and puts up with so much and still continues to be as happy as can be. He really loves Dylan and Dylan can inevitably get a smile and some coo's out of Corbin. Looks like they are a great match! Ashlyn, on the other hand, smothers him until I pry her off of him! She has to be constantly touching his head in some form or another- from her elbow to her feet.

Here's to THREE months old!!

Crazy Three Weeks

Our camera is currently out of commission, so we don't have any new pictures to share right now. But we do want to thank everyone for their prayers and their thoughts for us. We are all finally feeling better. The kids are doing much better. Dylan still has trouble being as rambunctious as usual. But he has lost so much weight. He is now back to sleeping very little- but I should be thankful.

For those who don't know- we have been in and out of the ER three times between two kids. We still don't know exactly what was wrong but we do know that Dylan had strep throat at some point. Our pediatrician says if it was only strep, then she has never seen anything like it. Both kids where extremely dehydrated from diarrhea and vomiting. Dylan's lasted two weeks. Ashlyn had the same symptoms plus a croup cough, but test results said she had no strep? Dylan slept away most his days and said or did little. So we are glad to have some of him back. We still have some recovering to do.

Right before all this Dylan got his first black eye. We do have a picture we will have to post at some point. He and Simeon, his cousin, ran right into eachother. His eye swelled shut in seconds. He couldn't see well for a few days and then we had a rainbow of colors. He just now is looking normal again. But it was all kind of funny.