No More Monkey Business & Testimony over the last year
No More Monkey Business
As a matter of fact... I had my horrible mom moment of the year.
My son was hurt from a fall and I told him, completely serious, that he was getting a whipping if he wasn't broken. Well, he ended up broken.
My oldest son tried to be a monkey and climb to retrieve a stuck ball in our church gym.
I was not in the room at the time of the fall but was told what happened. My son is a very blessed young man because he only has a fractured heel and a compression fracture in his T4.
That alone will be suffering enough for disobedience and climbing.
Poor guy is doing good but would much rather be up and around!!
God has a way of getting things across to us in a way that we are sure to listen.
Matthew had to be injured by doing something to realize his.
So, I want to share part of Levi's testimony with you.
Levi was born 2 1/2 years ago.
He went home from the hospital with stitches due to hypospadias and not being able to complete the already started circumcision. That was a foreign term and I didn't truly understand what it meant. We were very nervous about this. However, we kept on keeping on. The stitches fell out. He healed from that. Then he stayed sick for the next year with ear infections, viruses, colds and then staff. He finally ended up with a staph infection that landed him in my lap, whiny, clingy and just in general miserable. Then he ended up with tubes in his ear from the numerous ear infections we could NOT get to clear up with meds and drops.
During all this Levi was scheduled to have the surgery to repair/reconstruct his urethra which was supposed to correct his mild hypospadias. Being so sick and having the amount of mucus he had to cancel the surgery and continued to push it back.
Finally in the fall of 2013 Levi began getting extremely sick. After a few days I was beyond worried mama. I was extremely concerned. We took Levi in thinking he had a virus because there was blood in his diaper or he had another infection. We had a diaper for the Dr to have tested and were sent home with instructions to keep fluids in him and how to help with diarrhea. The day and then weekend went by with no word. I call the doctors office by end of Monday. They couldn't get a good sample to test. So I wanted to see the Dr ASAP. I was not satisfied. My child was very sick and even had looked a little swollen and puffy for weeks. I wanted an answer and I wanted it now. Once we got to the office and our normal PCP seen him however, we were given news that changed the course of the next few months.
Our Dr told us he was concerned with the amount of bruising along with the other symptoms Levi had over the last week or two. We were immediately sent to have blood drawn for testing. We had blood drawn and were told to go home, which was 30 minutes away, and wait to hear about the results. About half way home I was called by the Dr's office and told Levi was going to need to go to ACH ER. He would be admitted right away when we arrived. His blood count was extremely low. We were about home so I asked if I could finish my drive home and grab a few things. The nurse thought that would be fine. Then the Dr himself called me back and said to get to ACH NOW. There was no time to waste because Levi was in kidney failure. I was scared and more concerned now than I had ever been before. On the way to the hospital Levi would not stay awake. I tried to get him to talk or look at me. But, he just kept dozing off. I now know he wasn't just sleeping. He was in complete renal (kidney) failure by the time we arrived to the hospital.
Levi ended up being diagnosed with Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome also known as HUS. HUS is a disease which ends with the destruction of red blood cells, kidney failure and low platelet count among other things. This disease usually follows food borne illness such as E. coli but has also been linked to several other viruses. It has a 5-10% mortality rate. It's a pretty scary disease and it's no fun for our little 1 1/2 year old boy.
So... here we are with a child that has ingested E.Coli and we have NO idea how or when. No one else in our home was ever sick. We were sent to PICU. Levi was the healthiest on the floor even though he had to have dialysis and blood transfusions just to survive. It was the scariest and biggest blessing I have ever seen. We were scared more than ever because we were still standing back watching the rotation of Dr's, nurses, and people in and out of the room all working on our little guy. Yet, we were blessed beyond measure because the children on either side of us were in coma's and had tubes coming out of many places in their bodies. My heart was hurting from my own child's pain and illness but it hurt so much more for the parents of these helpless babies. Absolutely broken.
Once we all took a breath and our little guy was all hooked up to everything, so swollen, in and out of sleeping or consciousness, we were talked to in greater detail. He was to be there about 4 weeks. He had an IV and received fluids/TPN. He had a hemo catheter and a PICC line. He went through 5 blood transfusions and 7 days of dialysis treatments. His body went through SO much and it took a while for him to get his energy back. Once they started weening him from the TPN he was allowed to have juice and snacks and food. It was very limited but it was food. But... guess who didn't want to eat?! Yep... Levi didn't want much at all. We ended up starting with juice and gold fish. After a few days he finally began to eat a meal a day and only on TPN half the day. Then a few days later he was able to eat on his own and the TPN stopped. After two days of eating, no TPN, no dialysis and his body stabilized he was able to FINALLY go home! We spent over 2 weeks in Dr's office and hospitals. God allowed Levi to be healed and completely back to normal just 2 weeks later. At his next Nephrology appointment and check up all levels from the blood test were completely normal. Not one single number was bad. The day before Thanksgiving Levi was released from the very strict diet and all other restrictions. He was able to enjoy good food and he totally did! He was stuffed from just the little he was able to enjoy! :) He did lose weight after coming home but that was both the diet and loss of fluid from swelling. In the end he was completely healthy and had no signs of kidney damage.
Now... tell me that God wasn't in that? Praise the Lord my little Levi had good doctors that took this serious and got us to the right place just in time.
Now, I shared all of that to share something else. We went back to his urologist to schedule the surgery to correct his hypospadias. We were beyond blessed when the Dr told us that Levi's body has corrected itself. He did not need to have the surgery after all. He will have a typical circumcision and that's it!!
So... if Levi had not stayed sick he would have had an unnecessary surgery! God allowed all of those other things to protect him from something else. How awesome is that? How amazing that God worked all things together for good! We were without words. We were so relieved and blessed and excited and just thrilled! This is his boy parts after all! :) TMI... sorry.
So, now Levi goes for his yearly Nephrology appointment in a few weeks to see if there is still no damage and there are no signs of long term issues to be concerned with.
I don't know what kind of plans God has for my children but if they are surviving so many things that could be SO awful then I am led to believe God has big plans for them. I don't know what those plans are but I will be sure my children always know how blessed they truly are! I will be sure to be reminded that there is always a plan even when we are in the midst of something as tragic as your childs system completely shutting down and needed lots of medical attention just to survive. The hospital and staff there were all so understanding and kind. There was only one nurse I could have chewed up and spit out but I decided to just let it slide and give grace.
So... this last year has been a rollercoaster of lots of things but we are blessed beyond measure!
Praise be to God almighty!!
Glory to our Father on high!
Blessings,
As a matter of fact... I had my horrible mom moment of the year.
My son was hurt from a fall and I told him, completely serious, that he was getting a whipping if he wasn't broken. Well, he ended up broken.
My oldest son tried to be a monkey and climb to retrieve a stuck ball in our church gym.
I was not in the room at the time of the fall but was told what happened. My son is a very blessed young man because he only has a fractured heel and a compression fracture in his T4.
That alone will be suffering enough for disobedience and climbing.
Poor guy is doing good but would much rather be up and around!!
 |
| Getting ready for the ambulance ride from 1st hospital to ACH! NO FUN!! But yet, he still could smile through the craziness! |
 |
| We are home, comfortable as possible and medicated to get some rest! Thumbs up for FINALLY being back home but more importantly for the minimal breakage! |
 |
| This was on the wall in the ER room we stayed in for a few hours. We were discussing not getting to play football this season and then seen this poster. Very fitting since he was hurting SO much. |
 |
| This was a poster on the opposite wall. Matthew kept staring at it while we waited on the ambulance to arrive for transferring. Think about that for a minute. Matthew fell being disobedient and climbing. Yes, he thought he was being helpful to his little brother but still disobedient. Is being that person someone you would be proud to know? NOPE!! |
God has a way of getting things across to us in a way that we are sure to listen.
Matthew had to be injured by doing something to realize his.
So, I want to share part of Levi's testimony with you.
Levi was born 2 1/2 years ago.
He went home from the hospital with stitches due to hypospadias and not being able to complete the already started circumcision. That was a foreign term and I didn't truly understand what it meant. We were very nervous about this. However, we kept on keeping on. The stitches fell out. He healed from that. Then he stayed sick for the next year with ear infections, viruses, colds and then staff. He finally ended up with a staph infection that landed him in my lap, whiny, clingy and just in general miserable. Then he ended up with tubes in his ear from the numerous ear infections we could NOT get to clear up with meds and drops.
During all this Levi was scheduled to have the surgery to repair/reconstruct his urethra which was supposed to correct his mild hypospadias. Being so sick and having the amount of mucus he had to cancel the surgery and continued to push it back.
Finally in the fall of 2013 Levi began getting extremely sick. After a few days I was beyond worried mama. I was extremely concerned. We took Levi in thinking he had a virus because there was blood in his diaper or he had another infection. We had a diaper for the Dr to have tested and were sent home with instructions to keep fluids in him and how to help with diarrhea. The day and then weekend went by with no word. I call the doctors office by end of Monday. They couldn't get a good sample to test. So I wanted to see the Dr ASAP. I was not satisfied. My child was very sick and even had looked a little swollen and puffy for weeks. I wanted an answer and I wanted it now. Once we got to the office and our normal PCP seen him however, we were given news that changed the course of the next few months.
Our Dr told us he was concerned with the amount of bruising along with the other symptoms Levi had over the last week or two. We were immediately sent to have blood drawn for testing. We had blood drawn and were told to go home, which was 30 minutes away, and wait to hear about the results. About half way home I was called by the Dr's office and told Levi was going to need to go to ACH ER. He would be admitted right away when we arrived. His blood count was extremely low. We were about home so I asked if I could finish my drive home and grab a few things. The nurse thought that would be fine. Then the Dr himself called me back and said to get to ACH NOW. There was no time to waste because Levi was in kidney failure. I was scared and more concerned now than I had ever been before. On the way to the hospital Levi would not stay awake. I tried to get him to talk or look at me. But, he just kept dozing off. I now know he wasn't just sleeping. He was in complete renal (kidney) failure by the time we arrived to the hospital.
Levi ended up being diagnosed with Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome also known as HUS. HUS is a disease which ends with the destruction of red blood cells, kidney failure and low platelet count among other things. This disease usually follows food borne illness such as E. coli but has also been linked to several other viruses. It has a 5-10% mortality rate. It's a pretty scary disease and it's no fun for our little 1 1/2 year old boy.
So... here we are with a child that has ingested E.Coli and we have NO idea how or when. No one else in our home was ever sick. We were sent to PICU. Levi was the healthiest on the floor even though he had to have dialysis and blood transfusions just to survive. It was the scariest and biggest blessing I have ever seen. We were scared more than ever because we were still standing back watching the rotation of Dr's, nurses, and people in and out of the room all working on our little guy. Yet, we were blessed beyond measure because the children on either side of us were in coma's and had tubes coming out of many places in their bodies. My heart was hurting from my own child's pain and illness but it hurt so much more for the parents of these helpless babies. Absolutely broken.
Once we all took a breath and our little guy was all hooked up to everything, so swollen, in and out of sleeping or consciousness, we were talked to in greater detail. He was to be there about 4 weeks. He had an IV and received fluids/TPN. He had a hemo catheter and a PICC line. He went through 5 blood transfusions and 7 days of dialysis treatments. His body went through SO much and it took a while for him to get his energy back. Once they started weening him from the TPN he was allowed to have juice and snacks and food. It was very limited but it was food. But... guess who didn't want to eat?! Yep... Levi didn't want much at all. We ended up starting with juice and gold fish. After a few days he finally began to eat a meal a day and only on TPN half the day. Then a few days later he was able to eat on his own and the TPN stopped. After two days of eating, no TPN, no dialysis and his body stabilized he was able to FINALLY go home! We spent over 2 weeks in Dr's office and hospitals. God allowed Levi to be healed and completely back to normal just 2 weeks later. At his next Nephrology appointment and check up all levels from the blood test were completely normal. Not one single number was bad. The day before Thanksgiving Levi was released from the very strict diet and all other restrictions. He was able to enjoy good food and he totally did! He was stuffed from just the little he was able to enjoy! :) He did lose weight after coming home but that was both the diet and loss of fluid from swelling. In the end he was completely healthy and had no signs of kidney damage.
Now... tell me that God wasn't in that? Praise the Lord my little Levi had good doctors that took this serious and got us to the right place just in time.
Now, I shared all of that to share something else. We went back to his urologist to schedule the surgery to correct his hypospadias. We were beyond blessed when the Dr told us that Levi's body has corrected itself. He did not need to have the surgery after all. He will have a typical circumcision and that's it!!
So... if Levi had not stayed sick he would have had an unnecessary surgery! God allowed all of those other things to protect him from something else. How awesome is that? How amazing that God worked all things together for good! We were without words. We were so relieved and blessed and excited and just thrilled! This is his boy parts after all! :) TMI... sorry.
So, now Levi goes for his yearly Nephrology appointment in a few weeks to see if there is still no damage and there are no signs of long term issues to be concerned with.
I don't know what kind of plans God has for my children but if they are surviving so many things that could be SO awful then I am led to believe God has big plans for them. I don't know what those plans are but I will be sure my children always know how blessed they truly are! I will be sure to be reminded that there is always a plan even when we are in the midst of something as tragic as your childs system completely shutting down and needed lots of medical attention just to survive. The hospital and staff there were all so understanding and kind. There was only one nurse I could have chewed up and spit out but I decided to just let it slide and give grace.
So... this last year has been a rollercoaster of lots of things but we are blessed beyond measure!
Praise be to God almighty!!
Glory to our Father on high!
Blessings,
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