Thankful...

If you've ever met my sweet Boe, even for a minute, you know, he's a live-wire ;) He is my sweet, sweet, CRAZY boy! And I adore him. So, when he was throwing up for 2 days, unable to keep anything down, and not really moving, I thought maybe I should just call the Dr. just to see what I should do. I'm really not a worrier, and we have been so blessed to have really healthy kids, so I didn't think much of it, except that it had been going on for so long.
So, after I talked to the nurse on call, and she asked me a few questions (including when the last time he'd gone potty was, which I really didn't even know if he'd done that day at all!), she recommended I take him to the ER for some fluids, and started giving me addresses of ones nearby, I realized, that it was probably pretty bad (as far as the stomach flu goes). So, we hopped in the car, and headed over to the ER. Boe couldn't even really walk, his eyes looked glazed over, and he was burning up (103* fever it turns out!). SO unlike the boy who never sits still that he normally is.
Elly was my sweet helper the whole time, shuttling Gray around in the stroller, and being so patient and understanding. It was like Elly and Gray really knew how badly Boe was feeling. After all, they had seen him in the same spot on the couch for 2 days straight!
Ryan met us at the ER, and stayed with us while they did a few tests. It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to watch. Two nurses held Boe down to get blood and an IV, and all Boe could do was whimper, I really don't think that they really needed to hold him down, he didn't have the strength to protest anyways.
Of course, we brought our trusty friend Mater along, that made it a little bit better. The nurses started the fluids, and in the mean time, Ryan took Elly and Gray home for dinner.
Boe got to go to "The Closet" to pick out a toy....a new car. A friend for Mater (since Lightening McQueen was MIA!). And we just waited. I got to hang out with my boy, who said his eyes were tired. So he rested, and I watched weird TV in the room (darn it for forgetting my book!!). It was a precious time with him that I'm glad I was able to be there for. We chatted, and read a book, and watched the Spanish wildlife channel(....he thought the tigers were cool), and Cake Boss! (The only other choices for TV were teeny-bopper shows....no thanks.)
And I slowly got to see the life drip back into him. He started talking again, and moving around. Two things that he hadn't done for 2 DAYS! It was great. They ended up have to do 2 1/2 doses of fluids because he was that dehydrated. They said that just by looking at him, he didn't look too bad, but after looking at his blood tests, it was a lot worse than they had thought. he was so dehydrated, it was almost to the point of affecting his kidneys. I kept explaining it to him, like he was a car. His body was just out of gas, and it couldn't run anymore! So, we had to fill him up with some gas so he could run again!

Finally, he told me he had to go potty, which is what the nurses had been waiting for! So he did....hooray!!! And he got a popsicle. The first thing I'd seen him eat, and keep down, in 2 days. Such a sigh of relief. So, after about 4 hours, they sent us home, saying he was still dehydrated, but just to keep giving him LOTS of things to drink.

So, drink he did....he didn't really want anything to eat yet for the next 2 days after that. But finally, after 4 days of not eating anything, he had his first meal. Then the next day after that...he pooped. Which of course, I had to call Ryan at work to tell him about...you'd think he was the first child to ever poop or something! But, it meant he was eating, and was hydrating normally again. It was probably about that same time that I looked up dehydration online, and read about it, and had my break down. That was the sickest that any of our kids had ever been!! And it just made me realize, how precious their little lives are (getting teary eyed, just typing it!). And how very very thankful we are to have such healthy kids. I have friends who have to deal with IV's and hospitals and tests for their kids, monthly, weekly and even daily. I had to deal with it for four hours, and got a teensy weensy glimpse of what their lives and emotions are like. And man, it's hard!! I feel like such a wimp saying it was hard, because I do know that there are parents out there for whom this is their life! Daily. And they are my new heros!

It took Boe about a week to fully recover his appetite, and his energy. But now, a few weeks later, he is sure back to his old self. His once glazed over eyes, have their mischievous sparkle back! ;) So I will be thankful. Thankful that my children are healthy enough to drive me crazy some days!!