Never Simple

About 4pm today I noticed Matthew's face was swollen.  Hmmm.  I called the pediatrician to see if (a) this helped put the pieces of the puzzle together or (b) this complicated the picture.  His call back indicated b. Matthew's symptoms do not fit together nicely and with this new symptom, it was time to go to the ER. 

I was in total agreement with the pediatrician.  The face swelling, the belly noise, the vomiting, the lethargy, the paleness, the pathetic cry/moan, the slight dehydration, the distended belly-- I was a bit scared for our baby Matthew.  And then as I packed the bag to go, Matthew tilted his head back to Darren and smiled.  It was the first smile we've seen in days.  Then Matthew started moving his arms and legs. It's the most active he's been in days. 

I think to myself "Alright, I guess we'll skip the ER for now".  Then Matthew proceeded to throw up.  But he did so with a smile. I'm not sure what that means but I know Matthew never makes it easy on us and that includes this decision.  So for now, we are going to wait on the ER.  Of course, if he worsens, we'll head to the ER.  But hopefully Matthew's new attitude means he's on the mend.  We hope and pray!

Tummy Update 2

The x-ray did not show any visible signs of a blockage, so Matthew's tummy issue is likely viral.  If he presents certain symptoms of concern, we'll take him to the ER otherwise we'll just keep on keeping on and pray it passes quickly!  Poor sweet baby Matthew!

Tummy Update

Well, thankfully Matthew was able to keep down the liquids last night (thanks to the meds).  Matthew is still lethargic, whining/crying, with audible stomach noises and a distended belly.  Like us, the pediatrician is hopeful this is a stomach bug and Matthew is just presenting with unusual symptoms, but the fear is that he has a blockage of some sort.  We had an x-ray done this morning and that should tell us one way or the other what the next steps are.  We pray this is just a bug! 

Stomach Bug

Not much has changed in the last 24 hours.  Matthew is continuing to throw up, though now it is the pedialyte so it is less disgusting than 24 hours ago. He ran a fever of 102* after tylenol this morning, but it is normal now. He's not comforted by being held. 

He's exhausted but falls asleep only to wake up crying minutes later.  He hasn't gotten a stretch of sleep longer than two hours since Friday. His stomach noises are audible and frequent. He's slightly dehydrated. He's lethargic. All in all, Matthew is just plainly miserable. 

Though we were 30th in the queue at the after-hours pediatrician, we got an appointment for today (given the fever and 36 hours of vomitting).  The on-call pediatrician initially suggested we go to TCH for x-rays and blood work to figure out what is going on, but then acquiesced that we could attempt to manage this at home with meds and a strict hydration schedule (1 tsp every 5-10 mins) and a follow up appointment for tomorrow morning with our pediatrician.  If Matthew throws up between now and tomorrow's appointment, Darren and Matthew will be heading to TCH ER.  We are praying we won't have to do that!! 

Unfortunately, Darren would have to take Matthew because I have a raging head cold.  It is never good for mom to go down, but right now is not good timing at all!  And Jackson keeps complaining that his tummy hurts, and if he starts throwing up, I fear that Darren may run away.  For all of our sakes, we are praying for health to return to the Hoy House very soon!! 

Yuck

We really need health to return to the Hoy House...soon!  In the last 2 weeks, Matthew caught a lung infection, then Jackson broke a bone in his foot, then Jackson caught a cold, then I caught a cold, and now Matthew has a stomach bug. 

So, the last 2 weeks haven't been fun, but I think today takes the cake so far.  Jackson and I are still battling our colds and Matthew was up 1/2 the night fussing.  Then this morning Matthew started throwing up, time and time again.  He hasn't been able to keep anything down since early this morning.  He cries out every time his stomach moves.  Poor baby Matthew! 

Helmet Countdown Wk 3

Helmet countdown-- 3 weeks down, 7 weeks to go.

Good news about the helmet:
1. The latest fitting seems to have helped.  The spot on the back of his head seems to be healing.  Matthew was out of the helmet for 10 hours on Monday, but has been back in it 23 hours/day since. 
2.  It doesn't stink like a teenage boys foot anymore.  It still smells bad, but it is not nearly as offensive. 
3.  Matthew has adjusted to it well.  Now when we take it off, he tries to figure out what is different (rolls his eyes up to look for it, turns his head back and forth to try to feel for it, etc). 
4.  The helmet was helpful when we were giving Matthew breathing treatments, as it helped trap the steam/medicine close to his face. 
5.  We really don't have any bad news about the helmet this week!

Matthew reaching out for Padme



Happy 11 Months!

I was just thinking today about a typical day 6 months ago-- Matthew taking medicine 7 times a day and taking a bottle 7 times a day, screaming and taking 30 minutes to an hour to eat.  Oh goodness, how thankful we are that we made it past that! 

We are so grateful to be where we are now, celebrating Matthew's 11th month.  Matthew is in a good place (despite fighting his current respiratory infection).  He's relatively healthy, eating well, happy and slowly progressing developmentally.  We have a lot to celebrate!  In addition to being a stones throw away from his first birthday, Matthew has recently hit a huge milestone.  He is finally sitting unsupported! 



Matthew 11 months (sitting unsupported)

We have been so fortunate to have the unwavering support of our family and friends through Matthew's journey this past 11 months.  Thank you for being there in good times and bad!  We are so glad to be sharing this good time and pray for many more!