My poor husband has been sick....VERY SICK....so sick that he actually stayed home from work yesterday. Those of you that know him know that he NEVER does that so I knew he felt really bad. Plus, he was running a fever over 101 so he didn't really have a choice. I got up and took care of myself and Zoe and we got out of the house. Well, first I disinfected the entire house with Clorox and Lysol...my new best friends. I also did two entire loads of laundry of everything Mark has touched in HOT water....all of this while still arriving at work at 7:30 a.m. So, needless to say I was up a little after 4:00 a.m. yesterday taking care of business. You know, there isn't anything a wife and mother won't do for her family.
During lunch yesterday I actually came home to check on Mark because I knew from talking to him that he was in bad shape. He had gone to a walk-in clinic who didn't even bother to so much as swab him for flu (don't get me started) and sent him on his way with a script for Amoxicillin and directions to buy a $13.00 SALINE SOLUTION FOR HIS NOSE! I took that box and marched right back to Target to retun it. Are you kidding me? $13.00 for glorified salt water?!? WHAT?!? So, I go back to work for the day, pick up Zoe and then we come home. It's while Zoe and I are eating supper that things start to go from bad to worse. I can hear Mark get up and start puking violently....and I do mean violently....and I do mean A LOT! He is complaining that his head hurts so bad that's he dizzy, he has a fever of 102.9 and is miserable beyond words. I tell him that he needs to head to the closest ER. I can tell when Mark doesn't skip a beat and heads straight to his closet for his pants that he's in bad shape. For those of you who don't know, Mark is VERY squeamish when it comes to anything medical and he HATES hospitals. My poor husband didn't bat an eye and our poor Zoe girl was literally freaking out because Daddy wasn't quite right. That's an understatement. I chose to keep Zoe here at home because she was truly freaking out and I didn't think she needed to go sit in the ER and freak out even more.
Since we have no family here, there are only three people I trust enough to watch our Zoe girl. Those include Aunt Julie, Aunt Lisa and Aunt Shelley (in total random order). The first two are out of town and when I called Aunt Shelley her first response was, "What can I do and what do you need from me?" She didn't bat an eye and said she would get here whenever I needed her. Poor Aunt Lisa is out of town for a funeral and doesn't know what is going on and Aunt Julie is in Memphis with her parents and kids and is offering up her husband who is home trying to get their kitchen in order from a total kitchen renovcation to come over here and watch Zoe. Do you know what that means to us? Those people are what constitute family to us here. They are our family in every sense of the word and would do anything for us. That is a great feeling and something I cherish beyond words.
Now, this entire time I'm in contact with Mark while he's in the emergency room. They have first swabbed him for flu since he's symptomatic of it even though we've been vaccinated for both seasonal flu and H1N1. They have taken blood from him and are prepping him for an IV since he's a little dehydrated. I've told Aunt Shelley at this point that I may have her come over here to watch Zoe after I get her to bed because I don't want her to freak out any more than necessary. She tells me that she will do whatever and to just say the word. Mark calls me at this time and tells me that they have done a chest x-ray for pneumonia and it has come back clear. Now, they want to do a CT scan of his head due to the head pain and are now throwing around words like viral and/or bacterial meningitis! WHAT?!? Now, I'm in freak out mode. This is when I start trying to hold it together and not scare my three year old worse. How can our world come crashing down so quickly? I start doing the one thing I know to do...praying. And I mean praying nonstop as I walk around the house and try to busy myself with disinfecting our house again. I've put Zoe in front of a movie to occupy her and take her mind off of things and I'm still praying....I don't think I ever stopped. Mark tells me that I probably should get Shelley to come on over so I can come to the hospital. I decide to get Zoe to bed first and not let her know anything that's going on and when Shelley gets here I take off. When I get to the hospital and see Mark I can't tell he still doesn't feel well and he's a little pale. He tells me that the CT scan of his head is normal and that they did a CT scan on his abdomen since his liver enzymes in his bloodwork are a little elevated. The CT scan of his abdomen are also normal so they've now decided to do a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) and test him for both forms of meningitis. I can handle a lot of medical stuff, but I actually get a little hot and lightheaded. Needless to say, when they come to do the procedure I actually have to step out of the room. They take about 12 minutes or so and when the doctor comes out he's carrying three or four vials of what looks to be water. He tells me that he will send it off for testing, but that he's going to go ahead and start Mark on an IV antibiotic in case it is bacterial meningitis. According to him in his exact words, "Bacterial meningitis can quickly become deadly and we don't want to take any chances with Mark. I haven't started the antibiotics because it would alter my test results and mask if it were in fact bacterial meningitis. So, we're going to start the IV antibiotics as a precautionary measure and I'll let you know when I get the results in 30 to 45 minutes." I go in and see Mark and he's REALLY PALE by his time and has to now stay flat on his back for at least the following hour so he doesn't leak any spinal fluid. The only thing Mark tells me that is reassuring is that the doctor commented that the spinal fluid was clear and not murky, which was a great sign. Yeah, by this time I'm still praying constantly in my head in case you're wondering. It doesn't seem like any time at all when the doctor comes back in and tells us that both tests are negative and that he does not have meningitis. THANK GOD! They tell us that we need to follow up with our primary care doctor to see why the liver enzymes are elevated, but that he isn't really concerned about it at this point since anything can cause it and the CT scan of his abdomen came back normal. He gives us three scripts to get filled and tells us we can leave after Mark has stayed flat for a while longer. We actually leave the ER around 11:00 p.m. or so, which I can't believe. I have to brag on Summit Medical Center because they didn't mess around and they took excellent care of Mark for us. Even though he went through all of that, I'm thankful that they didn't mess around and take any chances with him. The doctor explained that there was the possibility of 1 out of approximatly every 50 patients with symptoms like Mark having meningitis, but that he just couldn't take that chance. Plus, it is something that is often missed and in case where it's bacterial, it can become quickly deadly. I thanked him profusely as you can imagine.
So, my precious three year old has decided to get up at 6:00 a.m. after I've been up half the night worrying like a mother hen and constantly checking on Mark. He hasn't spiked another fever and is trying to push fluids. His urine is still really yellow, but we are going to push water and Gatorade like crazy today. Now, for the really, really, really important part....
During lunch yesterday I actually came home to check on Mark because I knew from talking to him that he was in bad shape. He had gone to a walk-in clinic who didn't even bother to so much as swab him for flu (don't get me started) and sent him on his way with a script for Amoxicillin and directions to buy a $13.00 SALINE SOLUTION FOR HIS NOSE! I took that box and marched right back to Target to retun it. Are you kidding me? $13.00 for glorified salt water?!? WHAT?!? So, I go back to work for the day, pick up Zoe and then we come home. It's while Zoe and I are eating supper that things start to go from bad to worse. I can hear Mark get up and start puking violently....and I do mean violently....and I do mean A LOT! He is complaining that his head hurts so bad that's he dizzy, he has a fever of 102.9 and is miserable beyond words. I tell him that he needs to head to the closest ER. I can tell when Mark doesn't skip a beat and heads straight to his closet for his pants that he's in bad shape. For those of you who don't know, Mark is VERY squeamish when it comes to anything medical and he HATES hospitals. My poor husband didn't bat an eye and our poor Zoe girl was literally freaking out because Daddy wasn't quite right. That's an understatement. I chose to keep Zoe here at home because she was truly freaking out and I didn't think she needed to go sit in the ER and freak out even more.
Since we have no family here, there are only three people I trust enough to watch our Zoe girl. Those include Aunt Julie, Aunt Lisa and Aunt Shelley (in total random order). The first two are out of town and when I called Aunt Shelley her first response was, "What can I do and what do you need from me?" She didn't bat an eye and said she would get here whenever I needed her. Poor Aunt Lisa is out of town for a funeral and doesn't know what is going on and Aunt Julie is in Memphis with her parents and kids and is offering up her husband who is home trying to get their kitchen in order from a total kitchen renovcation to come over here and watch Zoe. Do you know what that means to us? Those people are what constitute family to us here. They are our family in every sense of the word and would do anything for us. That is a great feeling and something I cherish beyond words.
Now, this entire time I'm in contact with Mark while he's in the emergency room. They have first swabbed him for flu since he's symptomatic of it even though we've been vaccinated for both seasonal flu and H1N1. They have taken blood from him and are prepping him for an IV since he's a little dehydrated. I've told Aunt Shelley at this point that I may have her come over here to watch Zoe after I get her to bed because I don't want her to freak out any more than necessary. She tells me that she will do whatever and to just say the word. Mark calls me at this time and tells me that they have done a chest x-ray for pneumonia and it has come back clear. Now, they want to do a CT scan of his head due to the head pain and are now throwing around words like viral and/or bacterial meningitis! WHAT?!? Now, I'm in freak out mode. This is when I start trying to hold it together and not scare my three year old worse. How can our world come crashing down so quickly? I start doing the one thing I know to do...praying. And I mean praying nonstop as I walk around the house and try to busy myself with disinfecting our house again. I've put Zoe in front of a movie to occupy her and take her mind off of things and I'm still praying....I don't think I ever stopped. Mark tells me that I probably should get Shelley to come on over so I can come to the hospital. I decide to get Zoe to bed first and not let her know anything that's going on and when Shelley gets here I take off. When I get to the hospital and see Mark I can't tell he still doesn't feel well and he's a little pale. He tells me that the CT scan of his head is normal and that they did a CT scan on his abdomen since his liver enzymes in his bloodwork are a little elevated. The CT scan of his abdomen are also normal so they've now decided to do a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) and test him for both forms of meningitis. I can handle a lot of medical stuff, but I actually get a little hot and lightheaded. Needless to say, when they come to do the procedure I actually have to step out of the room. They take about 12 minutes or so and when the doctor comes out he's carrying three or four vials of what looks to be water. He tells me that he will send it off for testing, but that he's going to go ahead and start Mark on an IV antibiotic in case it is bacterial meningitis. According to him in his exact words, "Bacterial meningitis can quickly become deadly and we don't want to take any chances with Mark. I haven't started the antibiotics because it would alter my test results and mask if it were in fact bacterial meningitis. So, we're going to start the IV antibiotics as a precautionary measure and I'll let you know when I get the results in 30 to 45 minutes." I go in and see Mark and he's REALLY PALE by his time and has to now stay flat on his back for at least the following hour so he doesn't leak any spinal fluid. The only thing Mark tells me that is reassuring is that the doctor commented that the spinal fluid was clear and not murky, which was a great sign. Yeah, by this time I'm still praying constantly in my head in case you're wondering. It doesn't seem like any time at all when the doctor comes back in and tells us that both tests are negative and that he does not have meningitis. THANK GOD! They tell us that we need to follow up with our primary care doctor to see why the liver enzymes are elevated, but that he isn't really concerned about it at this point since anything can cause it and the CT scan of his abdomen came back normal. He gives us three scripts to get filled and tells us we can leave after Mark has stayed flat for a while longer. We actually leave the ER around 11:00 p.m. or so, which I can't believe. I have to brag on Summit Medical Center because they didn't mess around and they took excellent care of Mark for us. Even though he went through all of that, I'm thankful that they didn't mess around and take any chances with him. The doctor explained that there was the possibility of 1 out of approximatly every 50 patients with symptoms like Mark having meningitis, but that he just couldn't take that chance. Plus, it is something that is often missed and in case where it's bacterial, it can become quickly deadly. I thanked him profusely as you can imagine.
So, my precious three year old has decided to get up at 6:00 a.m. after I've been up half the night worrying like a mother hen and constantly checking on Mark. He hasn't spiked another fever and is trying to push fluids. His urine is still really yellow, but we are going to push water and Gatorade like crazy today. Now, for the really, really, really important part....
"Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High."
Psalm 50:14
"Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift."
2 Corinthians 9:15
And I want to thank my dear friend Aunt Shelley for dropping everything to come take of us and our Zoe girl. Shelley, you are amazing and I'm so lucky to have you. And a big thanks to my parents for trying to keep me calm and to Aunt Julie for also doing the same and for offering up her husband. We love all of you and can't thank you enough for loving us the way you do.
1 comments:
Wow, Courtney! I will be thinking of you all today.
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