What a week!

Hey everyone, it is Emily again. Austin and I are still here in the hospital. If only I would have known Monday morning what this week would bring . . . I think I would have just crawled right back in bed!

I've been meaning to post about the passing of Jer's wonderful Grandpa Holmes last Saturday. He was a great man who accomplished a lot in his 82 years. He was surely a character and we will really miss him. Here is a link to his obituary. His funeral is tomorrow and unfortunately we are not able to go.

Austin is doing well. At this point, we've put four days into getting a diagnosis of silent GERD (reflux). Austin has three great doctors working on his care, a pediatrician, a pulmonologist, and a gastroenterologist. He is receiving breathing treatments every six hours to clear his lungs. He's had numerous x-rays, an echo cardiogram, an upper GI study (barium swallow), a consult with a speech therapist to check on his sucking and swallowing, and he currently has a PH probe in. A PH probe is a wire that goes through the nose and down to the esophogus to measure acidity levels over a 24 hour period. Today I need to record every burp, cough and sneeze as they happen. I also need to alternate regular feedings with glucose water feedings. Austin is handling things well and all his caregivers comment on what a mellow patient he is.

I am doing pretty well. I went for my two week check up yesterday (my big excursion out of the hospital for the week was to go to the doctor's office -- go figure) and the doctor is quite proud of his skills as a surgeon. I do have to go on some antibiotics for an infection, but in the grand scheme of things, that isn't a big deal.

Lex woke up Wednesday morning and greeted the day by vomiting all over Jeremy. Jer had to deal with a LONG day of caring for a sick kid and keeping him hydrated. We think that Lex picked up this bug when we were in the ER on Monday. We were being SO careful about keeping him healthy, too. After 24 hours, he got better but he still won't eat.

Last night, poor Jer came down with the bug, too. He said that it was HORRIBLE!!! At one point he tried to leave the bathroom to check on Lex and he blacked out for a second. So he crawled back to the bathroom and resumed vomiting. Yuck! Jer felt awful that Lex was essentially watching himself, but there was no alternative. Jer is weak today and doesn't want to eat, but he is feeling better.

So, it has been a crazy week! I have spent so much time away from little Lex since we don't want him and Austin in the same room right now, and we want to keep Lex out of the hospital and away from any other bugs. I miss that little boy so much! Before Austin was born, I'd never spent more than five hours away from Lex at a time. I spent almost 48 hours away from him this week. Sad! But Jer is taking excellent care of him.

We are hoping to be discharged tomorrow. If not, it should be Sunday. I am sure hoping for tomorrow!

Even though this week has royally sucked, I know that on Thanksgiving next week, we do have a lot to be thankful for. We have these two beautiful boys who despite their issues this week, are pretty healthy. I have a really great husband who will clean all the puke up and still do loads of laundry for me so I can have clean clothes here in the hospital. We have health insurance who will cover these medical bills. We have a great extended family who worries about us and checks up on us. We have a great friend in Paula who took a very sick Lex into her home when Jer had to attend a work dinner on Wednesday evening. Anyway, my point is, things will get better and we realize it.