So...after my last post, I fully intended to write the next night about India, then my video wouldn't upload, then our internet was down, then summer project happened, then our baby got sick. Life, you know? You get the picture.
Ten days ago, Bart's fever started. Today, we are leaving the hospital...and I feel like I finally have my baby back. Prior to Thursday, when we finally got some strong antibiotics in him, he was just miserable. And even after that, he still wasn't himself. And the bump behind his ear continued to swell.
Mastoiditis. Hadn't even heard of it before three days ago. Now, Bart has had surgery to deal with it!
So much to be thankful for....my great-uncle lost his hearing in one ear 100 years ago due to this same illness. But in 2014, antibiotics and surgeries and wonderful, fancy, comfortable hospitals are available, and healing is much more probable than it used to be.
He has been such a trooper, the worst part being getting his IV inserted twice--with two attempts each time! That's a lot of painful poking and pulling for a little 16-pounder.
Again, He has been faithful. I'm not sure why God allowed this particular trouble to come Bart's way, but I am thankful that again we have been acutely reminded of our helplessness and His power, love, care, and provision for His children.
Following are my Facebook posts from the last few days...
Monday, June 16
And now I'm asking for prayer for our baby. Bart is sick...he's had a fever since last Wednesday/Thursday, but for most of that time, we thought it was just teething. Saturday, his fever went very high, and it's been high on and off since. It's not teething. Today it went to 104.2, and I'm now waiting for a call from the doctor...thanks for praying!
...
Thank you, all, for praying. I talked to our doctor as well as to the doctor on call this evening. They are encouraging us simply to keep him comfortable as his body fights whatever virus he's got. He just woke up, and I gave him meds and a good dose of nursing and a snuggle...seems that's the only thing that comforts him, and I am more than happy to oblige, as I know that that special time will be over before I know it! He's asleep again...we will see how long sleep lasts this time. Please keep praying...we appreciate it so much!
Tuesday, June 17
Possible blood work has been mentioned as we moved into the 7th day of a fever. What is your opinion on how long to let it go before doing that? The only thing I'm noticing besides the fever and a little bit of a runny nose/cough is that when I nurse him on the right side, he seems uncomfortable...it's a little odd. Any thoughts? Hopefully today will be the end of it, but I want to be prepared in case.
...
Thank you so very much for your thoughts and prayers. As an update, Bart was up four times in the night but ended up sleeping from 4:30 til about 8 or so this morning (which I much appreciated!). This morning, he was actually much happier, and his fever was down, but by the time I out him down for a nap, he was warming up. We will see what happens when I get him up from his nap, as that is when the fever as spiked the last several days. Keep up the prayers...God hears every one!
Thursday, June 19
Thank you so much for your continued prayers for Bart! So many of you have let me know that you are praying, and it's wonderful! This is one of the reasons I love Facebook! So...here's the update for today: Bart continues to have a fever/be miserable/throw up occasionally, so today we will be re-evaluated by our awesome pediatrician. Tuesday I noticed that he was uncomfortable when nursing on one side, and yesterday he flinched when I touched his ear. By last evening, the area behind his ear is noticeably red. Could this just be an ear infection after all, or do we have something else happening? We aren't sure, but we certainly hope to have some answers by the end of the day. I will say that for being so miserable, he sure is sweet! When he's feeling better and smiles (which is still about half the time) he absolutely melts me! Keep praying, and I'll let you know when we know something! Doctor's appointment is at 9:30 CST.
...
Well, turns out that yes, he does have an ear infection, but he also has swollen lymph nodes. He is on a strong antibiotic, and we will watch to make sure that the swelling goes down within a couple of days. If not, we go back in. We are on the lookout for mastoiditis--and hoping he does NOT have it!
Friday, June 20
Guess where we are...Children's Hospital ER. Mostly precaution...continued prayers for our little guy are appreciated!
...
Okay, just had CT scan...tech said he was the best 10-month-old ever. Did so well! Getting the IV in was absolutely horrible, but the scan could hardly have been easier. Waiting for the results...The doctor suspects mastoiditis, and a CT scan is the only way to know for sure...and hopefully be able to rule it out. Bart is sooo tired now...this stuff wears a person out!
Saturday, June 21
It is 2:30 a.m., and I'm posting from Bart's hospital room. He has been admitted for IV antibiotics and also for surgery tomorrow morning (It's relatively minor, but still.) Lots going on...when I have more mental energy than I do now, I will share more. Thank you for all of your many prayers for him!
...
We are in the surgery holding area. Pray that the abscess drain and tubes insertion goes as planned and that it has the desired affect of clearing a way for the infection to get out! Feeling a bit better after some good sleep!
...
Surgery went well...there was LOTS of infection (more, maybe, than they expected going in), so they were able to drain it, put tubes in, and take care of the abscess that he had. So much has happened so quickly...goodness! Thank you SO MUCH for praying! He is back in his room now recovering...he's clearly in pain but hopefully we will get that under control soon and he can sleep...
...
Update: a bit ago, Bart was very agitated, and we were assuming it was pain from his ears. Finally, after a half hour of off-and-on screaming, I noticed that the skin on his leg was really tight. Guess what? His IV infiltrated so his leg is super puffy. Back to miserable. When i was in labor with Rex, my IV infiltrated...it was awful and it hurt! I totally understand why he was screaming. Please pray as we have to get the IV reinserted in a different vein. That was the worst part of last night, and now we get to do it all over again. Wahhhh! (Mama tears on behalf of baby.)
Sunday, June 22
Good Sunday morning! Thank you for praying for us last night. Getting the IV restarted was the thing that finally did me in...it was just so hard to see my little guy go through that again. The process only took about half the time, but they still had to try in two different spots to get a vein that would work. Jan (Woodard), I can imagine you crying quietly and praying over Kristin as I was doing w Bart last night...the IV has to be placed, so there's nothing to do but grit your teeth and bear it....it was so sad. But he was such a champ, and we got through it. The men and women who work here at Children's are wonderful and I have been reminded so many times of what a privilege it is to have the medical care available that we do. This morning, Bart's dressing will be changed....please pray for him because I can't imagine that it's going to be super pleasant.
And now I get to let all of you know the good news...that we get to go HOME today! I had thought that it wouldn't be until tomorrow, so this is exciting....so glad that Bart is doing well enough to go now. Thank you for your many prayers these last few days...it was so great to be able to update and know that so many were joining us in lifting him up. A specific answer to prayer: his dressing pretty much came off on its own, and when the doctors came in to remove the packing, it all went quite smoothly. He now just has gauze taped to his head where it's draining...that's nothing compared to what he looked like before! The best part is that this morning, I finally feel like I have my baby back. He really seems MUCH more like himself today than he has in over a week! Right now, he's pushing himself up on his hands and knees in his hospital bed trying to practice real crawling (as opposed to the army crawl that he does now)!
Ten days ago, Bart's fever started. Today, we are leaving the hospital...and I feel like I finally have my baby back. Prior to Thursday, when we finally got some strong antibiotics in him, he was just miserable. And even after that, he still wasn't himself. And the bump behind his ear continued to swell.
Mastoiditis. Hadn't even heard of it before three days ago. Now, Bart has had surgery to deal with it!
So much to be thankful for....my great-uncle lost his hearing in one ear 100 years ago due to this same illness. But in 2014, antibiotics and surgeries and wonderful, fancy, comfortable hospitals are available, and healing is much more probable than it used to be.
He has been such a trooper, the worst part being getting his IV inserted twice--with two attempts each time! That's a lot of painful poking and pulling for a little 16-pounder.
Again, He has been faithful. I'm not sure why God allowed this particular trouble to come Bart's way, but I am thankful that again we have been acutely reminded of our helplessness and His power, love, care, and provision for His children.
Following are my Facebook posts from the last few days...
Monday, June 16
And now I'm asking for prayer for our baby. Bart is sick...he's had a fever since last Wednesday/Thursday, but for most of that time, we thought it was just teething. Saturday, his fever went very high, and it's been high on and off since. It's not teething. Today it went to 104.2, and I'm now waiting for a call from the doctor...thanks for praying!
...
Thank you, all, for praying. I talked to our doctor as well as to the doctor on call this evening. They are encouraging us simply to keep him comfortable as his body fights whatever virus he's got. He just woke up, and I gave him meds and a good dose of nursing and a snuggle...seems that's the only thing that comforts him, and I am more than happy to oblige, as I know that that special time will be over before I know it! He's asleep again...we will see how long sleep lasts this time. Please keep praying...we appreciate it so much!
Tuesday, June 17
Possible blood work has been mentioned as we moved into the 7th day of a fever. What is your opinion on how long to let it go before doing that? The only thing I'm noticing besides the fever and a little bit of a runny nose/cough is that when I nurse him on the right side, he seems uncomfortable...it's a little odd. Any thoughts? Hopefully today will be the end of it, but I want to be prepared in case.
...
Thank you so very much for your thoughts and prayers. As an update, Bart was up four times in the night but ended up sleeping from 4:30 til about 8 or so this morning (which I much appreciated!). This morning, he was actually much happier, and his fever was down, but by the time I out him down for a nap, he was warming up. We will see what happens when I get him up from his nap, as that is when the fever as spiked the last several days. Keep up the prayers...God hears every one!
Thursday, June 19
Thank you so much for your continued prayers for Bart! So many of you have let me know that you are praying, and it's wonderful! This is one of the reasons I love Facebook! So...here's the update for today: Bart continues to have a fever/be miserable/throw up occasionally, so today we will be re-evaluated by our awesome pediatrician. Tuesday I noticed that he was uncomfortable when nursing on one side, and yesterday he flinched when I touched his ear. By last evening, the area behind his ear is noticeably red. Could this just be an ear infection after all, or do we have something else happening? We aren't sure, but we certainly hope to have some answers by the end of the day. I will say that for being so miserable, he sure is sweet! When he's feeling better and smiles (which is still about half the time) he absolutely melts me! Keep praying, and I'll let you know when we know something! Doctor's appointment is at 9:30 CST.
...
Well, turns out that yes, he does have an ear infection, but he also has swollen lymph nodes. He is on a strong antibiotic, and we will watch to make sure that the swelling goes down within a couple of days. If not, we go back in. We are on the lookout for mastoiditis--and hoping he does NOT have it!
Friday, June 20
Guess where we are...Children's Hospital ER. Mostly precaution...continued prayers for our little guy are appreciated!
...
Okay, just had CT scan...tech said he was the best 10-month-old ever. Did so well! Getting the IV in was absolutely horrible, but the scan could hardly have been easier. Waiting for the results...The doctor suspects mastoiditis, and a CT scan is the only way to know for sure...and hopefully be able to rule it out. Bart is sooo tired now...this stuff wears a person out!
Saturday, June 21
It is 2:30 a.m., and I'm posting from Bart's hospital room. He has been admitted for IV antibiotics and also for surgery tomorrow morning (It's relatively minor, but still.) Lots going on...when I have more mental energy than I do now, I will share more. Thank you for all of your many prayers for him!
...
We are in the surgery holding area. Pray that the abscess drain and tubes insertion goes as planned and that it has the desired affect of clearing a way for the infection to get out! Feeling a bit better after some good sleep!
...
Surgery went well...there was LOTS of infection (more, maybe, than they expected going in), so they were able to drain it, put tubes in, and take care of the abscess that he had. So much has happened so quickly...goodness! Thank you SO MUCH for praying! He is back in his room now recovering...he's clearly in pain but hopefully we will get that under control soon and he can sleep...
...
Update: a bit ago, Bart was very agitated, and we were assuming it was pain from his ears. Finally, after a half hour of off-and-on screaming, I noticed that the skin on his leg was really tight. Guess what? His IV infiltrated so his leg is super puffy. Back to miserable. When i was in labor with Rex, my IV infiltrated...it was awful and it hurt! I totally understand why he was screaming. Please pray as we have to get the IV reinserted in a different vein. That was the worst part of last night, and now we get to do it all over again. Wahhhh! (Mama tears on behalf of baby.)
Sunday, June 22
Good Sunday morning! Thank you for praying for us last night. Getting the IV restarted was the thing that finally did me in...it was just so hard to see my little guy go through that again. The process only took about half the time, but they still had to try in two different spots to get a vein that would work. Jan (Woodard), I can imagine you crying quietly and praying over Kristin as I was doing w Bart last night...the IV has to be placed, so there's nothing to do but grit your teeth and bear it....it was so sad. But he was such a champ, and we got through it. The men and women who work here at Children's are wonderful and I have been reminded so many times of what a privilege it is to have the medical care available that we do. This morning, Bart's dressing will be changed....please pray for him because I can't imagine that it's going to be super pleasant.
And now I get to let all of you know the good news...that we get to go HOME today! I had thought that it wouldn't be until tomorrow, so this is exciting....so glad that Bart is doing well enough to go now. Thank you for your many prayers these last few days...it was so great to be able to update and know that so many were joining us in lifting him up. A specific answer to prayer: his dressing pretty much came off on its own, and when the doctors came in to remove the packing, it all went quite smoothly. He now just has gauze taped to his head where it's draining...that's nothing compared to what he looked like before! The best part is that this morning, I finally feel like I have my baby back. He really seems MUCH more like himself today than he has in over a week! Right now, he's pushing himself up on his hands and knees in his hospital bed trying to practice real crawling (as opposed to the army crawl that he does now)!
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