Prayers & Blessings

Smiling Through It All

It has been a week of both prayers and blessings at our house. Beginning about two weeks ago we noticed Drew wouldn’t sit up. He has always preferred to lie down and crawl, but this was something different. When sitting on his own he squealed with pain. We went to see the pediatrician who set us up for an MRI to figure out what was going on with his back. In the meantime, he developed some sort of infection. Kevin and I had both had sinus troubles so we assumed it was the same thing. After 5 days of antibiotics things only appeared to be getting worse. By Monday of last week we were at the doctor with a 101 fever that would not go away. The doctor determined he had an infection in his ears, eyes and probably sinus’. She prescribed a series of antibiotic shots to try to clear it up. Day 2 his fever was spiking at close to 103. By day 3 the fever was uncontrollable and hit over 104. We were terrified and Drew just kept getting worse. Thursday afternoon the doctor finally sent us to the Blair E. Batson Children’s Hospital in Jackson.

Checking our baby into Children’s Hospital was the most terrifying experience of my life. I am not sure who cried more, me or Drew. I have never prayed more in my life. We checked into the hospital and they started Drew on a cocktail of antibiotics and fluids. We spent Friday being shuffled from test to test…MRI, chest x-ray, heart sonogram and LOTS of blood tests. Poor guy had so many sticks he was bruised from head to toe. We were lucky to have access to several pediatric specialists who spent a lot of time trying to figure out what was causing the fever and heightened inflammation levels in the blood tests. On Friday, my parents made the trip to Jackson to be here with us. Granny, Papa and Gigi all came to help entertain Drew in the hospital and give us some relief.

One of the great things about being at a Children's Hospital is they do all they can to make the stay easier.  This car helped Drew feel like he was getting out. 

He rode the halls telling EVERY nurse he saw Bye-Bye.

Once he started eating a little more Friday night he was happy to see the green beans and chicken strips.

Drew’s fever finally stabilized on Friday evening and he slept most of the night. By Saturday morning he was fever free and we were all ready to go home. I think the nurses and doctors at the hospital were just praying Drew’s doctor would release him when she came in for rounds. Kevin had expressed his opinion on the situation and it didn’t leave much room for negotiation. We were all ready to get out of there!! The doctor released Drew with treatment to continue at home and outpatient visits for this week. We made it home Saturday afternoon and all slept for several hours. It was so wonderful to be home.

Watching your baby be wheeled away in a hospital bed and hearing him scream as they search for a vein to get blood is something no mom (or dad) should have to experience. I hope it was the last time we have to go through anything like that. I have to say the most amazing part of the experience was the love, support and faith of our friends. The emails, text messages, facebook posts and phone calls never stopped while we were at the hospital. Friends who we see every day and friends who we haven’t seen in years all sent their prayers. It is amazing to feel the love and support through prayer. We cannot express how grateful we are for all the love that you showed. Knowing that our friends and family were praying for Drew and our family gave us peace that surpasses all understanding. As I sat in the waiting area waiting for the nurse to come get Drew for his MRI I looked around at children and their parents battling life-threatening illnesses. Some of these children had been battling their illness since birth. At that moment I felt a sense of peace in the midst of the storm. The prayers of so many fell upon Kevin, Drew and I and we knew God was with us all.

Drew is doing well and no fever since we have been home. My mom stayed a few days to help us all rest and decompress. She left today and we are hoping tomorrow will be a return to at least a little of our normal daily routine. Drew is SOOOO ready to be back at daycare. We saw the daycare director yesterday and he nearly leapt out of our arms to her. Drew will continue the antibiotics and he will see more doctors this week to try to pinpoint the back pain. He is still not sitting up much and we will probably need some physical therapy. Many thanks to all the doctors, nurses and staff at Blair E. Batson Children's Hospital.  It is a first class facility.  And for all of you who are in the Jackson Junior League and/or those of you who shop at Mistletoe to support Junior League projects...thank you---the children's activity room on our floor was wonderful!!  The prayers of many made this experience bearable and the blessing of a healing child is one we don’t take for granted. May God bless you and your family as much as you have blessed us with your love and support.