December 13, 2013: I thought that this was the day our Hootenanny Christmas Choir was performing in downtown Mooresville. And they did. And did a great job. and I don't have a single picture of it because i was a little distracted. Because Caleb spent the day looking like this :
Poor guy, the victim of a mom who is too busy and a Dad who was working on church stuff. He was running a fever and I was feeling super torn about where to be - with my sick baby or the obligations I already had. We chose to load up the sick baby and take him TO the obligation - complete with blankets and space heater to keep him warm.
After killing the power in downtown Mooresville with our space heater (true story) we finished our performances via iPhone lights, packed up and came home. Spent Saturday still having a sick little man, went to church on Sunday because Sissy was getting baptized, Daddy and I got sick on Monday, we were up all night long Monday night with 3 coughing boys and Tuesday finally decided to take Caleb to the Dr. Stubborn much ?
We often forget just how quickly a simply illness in Caleb can turn serious.
At the Dr. we found out that he had strep. Not a big deal, right? a couple antibiotics and we get to go home. right? wrong :( Caleb's oxygen levels had dropped into the 70's - which is a really big deal - and so our Dr. decided that we needed to go to the hospital for oxygen, fluid and antibiotics. Boo.
I tried to explain to her that we are people who do ministry as a living and that the middle of December isn't really the best time for a hospital stay - even a short one.
She didn't seem concerned about our schedule and told us to go to the hospital :)
So, we went to our local ER for O2 and fluid with the understanding that they would transport us to Charlotte to the children's hospital - he was so serious we needed a transport. Well, after assessing him at the ER those doctors decided that an ambulance wasn't quick enough so we got upgraded to a helicopter. Awesome.
One bonus in all of it was that the other littles and some friends came by the hospital to bring me stuff for an overnight stay. So, they got to see the helicopter!!
and away we go!!
I realize that not everyone gets to see the Charlotte skyline from a rooftop on a clear night. And so, of course, it was picture worthy. We really do have beautiful city!
sick much? At the hospital he was retested for the flu - which was negative - and also for RSV - which was positive :(
So, strep and RSV combined makes you look like this and it is very sad :(
After several days in CVICU we were upgraded to a regular room. We were still quarantined because of the RSV and sometimes a hospital room gets REALLY small! Thankfully we have awesome friends who came to see us and made us seem not so isolated from the world.
And then this tree showed up. Probably my favorite "gift" of the season and the one that made me ugly cry in a hospital room. We will definitely make this kind of gift a thing we do for others.
I so desperately wanted to be home, if not in FL, for Christmas.
Christmas in a hospital room just didn't seem ideal at all! And yet, that is what we got. and ya know, it wasn't awful. It wasn't great but we were together and realized more than ever that Christmas really isn't about what is "ideal" at all but about what WAS necessary. It was necessary for Jesus to leave heaven and come to a place that was less than ideal, to people who were less than ideal, to live and die in a way that was less than ideal, and it was all because of us and the fact that He loved us and wanted to be with us - no matter what the cost.
Christmas Day!!
Caleb's brothers made sure that his breathing equipment was working just how it was supposed to :)
and finally 8 days later we were finally oxygen free!!!!
and the day after Christmas some football players showed up!! They were in town for the Belk Bowl and were visiting the hospital. Caleb was so excited!
All in all, not what we planned for the week before Christmas, but such a great reminder of the fact that our little man (and all our children) is such a treasure and not one we should ever take for granted!
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