Kaleb has been dealing with a medical concern that, although not really life-threatening, is pretty frustrating for him and the rest of us. We're working with some good doctors and hope to find a solution soon.
My Dad was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer... finding that out was slightly devastating for me. My Dad has always been larger than life; a Superman figure, if you will. He was invincible and strong and pretty intimidating for most. =) He was a spiritual giant with a heart of gold. And only since the coming of grandkids have we all noticed how much of a teddy bear he really is! Although I very much consider him to still be all of these things, learning that something as serious and troubling as Cancer has slipped in and threatened him was quite hard for me. He's scheduled for surgery this thursday. His doc is positive, saying they caught it early enough that it shouldn't give them much of a fight and that surgery should take care of it. It's the SHOULD that's got me worried. I'm praying and hoping that his surgery and recovery are quick and easy. Any extra prayers are extremely appreciated.
My mom has also stumbled upon a couple of medical issues that are also not life-threatening. Even though it's good to know that things are under control and completely manageable, it's still hard to swallow the fact that your parents are getting older. I'm sure that they have many more years to go yet, but the past month or so has been a sobering reminder that this life is so short and fragile. It's extremely humbling...
To top it all off, we spent two separate weekends in Emergency rooms, followed by another week up at Primary Children's Medical Center with our little Justin. The first weekend he was diagnosed with the nasty Swine Flu and sent home with a prescription for Tamiflu. It was a nightmare to get him to take the medicine because it smelled (and probably tasted) HORRIBLE. We ended up wasting/losing an entire day's worth of doses due to the battle that ensued each time we came at him with the syringe. Eventually he got over it enough to take the rest of the medicine (but not without a bit of a struggle between Kaleb, him, and I) and he finally got better throughout the next week or so. He had almost completely recovered, except for a nagging, ugly cough and runny nose, when he again took a turn for the worse. He struggled to breathe and was running temperatures at an average of 104-105 degrees. I recognized all the warning signs from when he had RSV back when he was only 6 weeks old and immediately rushed him back to the ER.
After 12 grueling hours in both the normal hospital ER and then being transferred by ambulance to Primary's ER, we got settled into a hospital room up there and proceeded to spend the rest of the week there. Turned out he had a double diagnosis of Pneumonia and RSV. Poor little boy. The docs suspect he may be asthmatic, but unfortunately there's no real way to test for that until he's older (around 5 years). Although it was under grim circumstances, I was once again extremely impressed with the staff and facilities of Primary Children's Medical Center. Those that work and/or volunteer there are truly Angels in disguise. It is a magical place. Surprisingly enough, we got an unexpected visit from the Doctor who worked with us out at the other hospital's ER. He stopped by to check on us and to ensure that we were being taken care of. What a sweet man! Kaleb promptly sent out a letter to the CEO of Intermountain Healthcare praising that Doctor and all the other staff that took such great care of us.
~~The Ambulance Ride To Primary's~~
~~Playing With Toys The Doc Brought In~~
~~They Have So Many Cool Toys There!~~
~~Recovering Well!~~
~~And Finally We Are Outta Here!!~~
Justin has since recovered well. He is still finishing the last few days of his antibiotic they sent him home on to help clear out his lungs. And just the other day we received a card in the mail from all the nurses that cared for us and him while we were there. Justin definitely broke some young girls' hearts while he was there! ; )
I am so very thankful for hospitals and medicine and the advances that have been accomplished in our day and age. As well as the kind, caring nurses and the experienced, gentle doctors. Just when you think that it seems everything is going downhill in society, you have an experience like we did. It was a good reminder that there is still so much good out there... Still so much to be thankful for....
