Monday morning Shaun left for a business trip to Las Vegas with my dad, brother and brother-in-law. I had been dreading him going just because I didn't want to be away from him all week. I had planned some fun activities and projects for while he was gone and we were going to just try to distract ourselves and plus through. Monday was a really good day. It was about 8:30, I had just gotten all my little boys in their jammies and ready for bed and was cleaning out the tub after Isaiah's "shark poop" incident and Drew and Saiah were jumping on their bed when Drew came running to tell my that they couldn't sleep in their bed because Isaiah had thrown up in it. I thought maybe he was just jumping too much after eating case he was still acting normal so I stripped their bed andre-made it, changed him, and then we all climbed into their bed and read and sang songs. I had just shut off the light and everyone was almost asleep when Saiah threw up again, all over the bed round 2. So I moved Drew to my bed, made Saiah a bed on the bathroom floor, called my mom for help, and Saiah threw up all over the bathroom floor bed. My mom came and stayed with Isaiah so I could nurse Jaden to sleep, then she went back home and the rest of Monday night I spent holding Isaiah's head over the potty to throw up about every half hour. I laid on the bathroom floor with him, tried to sleep in the hallway some, and nursed Jaden whenever he woke up (Sometimes while holding Isaiah while he threw up). And somehow in that time I did laundry too, because we eventually ran out of blankets for Isaiah to lay on or cover up with in the bathroom. Isaiah finally stopped throwing up about 5:30 in the morning and slept til 7:30, then him and Drew were up and ready to start the day, and I was so tired and not realizing that it had actually been one of the easier nights of the week.
Tuesday was actually pretty normal, other than my tiredness, Isaiah was acting like himself and it seemed like it had just been a 12 hour thing. Tuesday night my mom brought dinner over and my sister and sister in law came for a girls night. We had fondue in the living room and then my sister in law spent the night since her husband was away too.
Wednesday morning I was feeling good and rested, and thinking everything was behind us. My mother in law came over and I did some things around the house, one of which was switching out Jaden's drawers and getting all his 3-6 month sleepers put away. I took my boys to my mom's house for the evening and got back around 9:00. My sister in law spent the night again and at midnight we were still up talking when I heard Drew coughing in his sleep. I didn't think anything of it actually. Then I heard Isaiah crying. When I went in to check on them I found Drew still sound asleep laying in his own throw up (which was not just confined to the bed but had gotten on the walls and carpet too.) I did the same as I had Monday night, stripped the bed, started laundry, moved Isaiah to my bed, put Drew on the bathroom floor and began the merry go round again. So thankful Steph was here, because Drew was throwing up even more than Isaiah had and I was hardly getting any chance to feed Jaden.
By 8:30 Thursday morning things were finally seeming to calm down and I climbed into my bed to feed Jaden again. When I finished feeding him and was about to go to sleep he projectile vomited all over my bed. I was praying it was just bad spit up. But it wasn't. Every time I fed him all morning he would throw it all right back up and soak us both. His last wet diaper was at 10 a.m. I was on the phone with the dr.'s office off and on all day trying to figure out what to do for him. I called Shaun at 11 to tell him what was happening ang he told me to get clothes ready for myself in case I needed to run out to take Jaden to the dr, so I laid some things out on the chest at the foot of my bed. In between him throwing up and changing our clothes I was trying to start more laundry, get Drew to eat something, give Isaiah some attention, couldn't set sweet Jaden boy down or he'd scream, and I hadn't even begun to clean the carpet from midnight the night before or start getting everything off my bed. My mom came around noon and it was my saving grace. She got there right as I had gotten off the phone with the dr. office about Jaden and Drew had just thrown up again down the steps and I was about to melt away into a puddle from exhaustion and a head ache and nausea from lack of sleep.
She took charge of laundry and cleaning and I was able to put a movie on for the boys and sit down to nurse Jaden. The rest of the afternoon I would feed Jaden, try to hold him still and pray he would digest some milk before throwing up, then he'd throw up on us both, I'd change our clothes and start over. And somewhere in there I realized there were men out front digging up the ground by our mailbox, and I didn't know why, but I thought what the heck, you could dig up my whole front yard right now and I couldn't care less.
About 1:30 Drew started looking flushed. At a little before three I took his temperature and it was 102. I gave him some tylenol, put another movie on and part way into the movie he fell asleep on the sofa. I was glad he was getting to rest. Meanwhile my mom ran out to get some pedialyte and more children's medicine because Jaden still hadn't had a wet diaper and I was worried I might have to take him to the er. Poor baby was even throwing up bile. By about 4:00 my mom headed home to let her dogs out, so I was alone again, the movie ended, and I saw Drew open his eyes on the sofa. I went over and sat next to him to ask him if he had a good nap, and thus began the scariest ten minutes of my entire life.
When I sat down next to him I thought he was stretching because his arms were over his head and he was staring at the ceiling. As I tried to talk to him he wouldn't look at me or respond in any way, and I realized that he was subtly jerking. I tried to get my finger in his mouth but his jaw was clenched tight and his tongue was rolled back. I started screaming his name and praying and trying to get him to answer me. I don't think I can ever forget the feeling of looking into his big beautiful brown eyes opened wide but looking scared and vacant at the same time. I was terrified out of my mind, just praying Jesus, Jesus over and over and I picked Drew up in my arms and ran to the kitchen and laid him on the floor next to me while I called 911. I was down on my knees next to him talking on the phone and giving my address and telling them what happened and thinking I needed this man to stop telling me to calm down so that I could call someone else and get someone to come to stay with Isaiah so I could go in the ambulance with Drew. I finally hung up with 911 and called my mom, but for whatever reason she wasn't answering her cell phone. I finally got ahold of her, screamed that Drew was having a seizure and I'd called 911 and for her to come back right away, then I started calling Shaun. It took four tries to get a hold of him and I can't imagine how he was feeling on the other side of the country hearing what was happening. I heard him praying and I hung up and just then our neighbor came in my front door. He said he'd heard the call go out on his radio and came right over. All this time I had been trying to get Drew to respond to me but when I'd ask him who I was he'd say daddy, he couldn't say his own name or his brother's names or seem to remember anything. Then my mom came in and I told her to go get my clothes from the foot of my bed because at that point I was wearing boxers and a bathrobe. I think I changed right there in the kitchen in front of the emt's, I can't really remember. But the ambulance came and they started checking Drew out and I put Jaden in his car seat because I had to take him with me because he wasn't keeping anything down and needed to have a wet diaper soon or I'd need to get him checked out too, but that suddenly seemed like a small worry. Bethany came running in the door and I was so happy to see her, she said Shaun had called her and she followed the ambulance to the hospital with my diaper bag and more pedialyte for Jaden. I got into the ambulance with Drew and Jaden and they strapped Drew into the bed and started checking him out. By this point he was sitting up but still not talking much. But his eyes looked like my Drew bug again and I just kept kissing his hand and trying not to cry and thanking God that he was starting to look more like himself. He sat straight up and was really serious and quiet the whole ambulance ride (except for when they put his i.v. in.... it was pretty traumatic.) When we got to the hospital he let the emt carry him in and he was just totally relaxed and resting his head on his shoulder, which he would normally never do with someone he didn't know but he was so wiped out. He still had a fever and was flushed and lethargic. My friend Ashleigh was working in the er and came to check on us, Bethany stayed with me until Steph came, and I felt so loved and supported. When they finally got his fever down at the hospital then he started really looking more like himself and wanted food. He had apple juice, graham crackers and applesauce and was asking to go home. He didn't like the IV and was asking me what the red stuff on his arm was and wanted his blood pressure cuff off. I tried to feed Jaden again and he threw up in the er room, but he had his first wet diaper. (Mini victory!) The Doctor came in and explained febrile seizures to me, told me what to look for etc. and then they sent us home. Shaun's parents brought our van up to get us, and we got back about 9:30 last night. While my mom and Shaun's parents were still here I came upstairs and got ready for bed and finished re-making our bed, gave Drew more tylenol, Jaden more pedialyte, they all got changed into jammies and we all climbed into my bed. Steph spent the night again and just before we were ready to go to sleep Isaiah asked for a glass of water and then proceeded to spill it in the bed. Just a little icing on the cake for a good laugh. Hey, I'd rather have water spilled in my bed than throw up any day. We just laid a towel over it and went to sleep. I woke up at about 11 p.m. when Jaden threw up all over me. I moved Isaiah to his bed, changed my shirt, and cleaned Jaden up and thankfully he stayed asleep when I put him in his bassinet. That 11:00 p.m. throw up seemed to be the last one for him though. This morning he feels like he has a little fever but I gave him some medicine and I'm praying that this will all be over soon. Shaun is home now, and Drew and Isaiah are asking for breakfast. And life is beautiful and I don't care about a dirty house or the fact that I haven't showered in days, I am just thankful for my boys and their sweet, spunky, beautiful selves.
Above: Drew waving to the camera to show daddy he was ok.
Trying to get some food into Drew, and pedialyte into Jaden...
About to head home.
Wow! You're super mom, for sure! I hope your boys continue to feel better! Prayers to all of you!
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