After Ethan's first hospital stay we were home for a day and a half and Ethan seemed to be doing okay but definitely not 100%. A follow up x ray showed that the effusion had grown and this concerned the doctors so they told us we would likely have to go back to the hospital. I was so sad to miss Garrison's class party that I was in charge of but I had some amazing moms (who I have yet to meet) that stepped right in to help. I took him back to the Childrens' Plano ER so we could decide next steps. The minute we walked in Ethan started screaming and I don't blame him. We were sick of being in a hospital. As they were starting the IV he looked at them and said, "All done, all done!"... talk about heart breaking.
After some tests and consults with other doctors they decided they wanted to do a procedure on him where they would stick a needle through his rib cage to get to the fluid outside his lungs and drain out the fluid. I knew there were risks with this and they were trying to avoid doing this during our first stay. They wanted us to go to Childrens' downtown for this procedure and while we were waiting on the ambulance to transport us the sweetest nurse in the ER came in to check on me and I lost it... just lost it. I had been so strong for so many days. While I knew he would be taken care of and that God had this I was still so heartbroken for my baby and I was really lacking strength. This sweet nurse just let me cry and comforted me with silence and a hug. She tried to lift my spirits by telling me how great Childrens' downtown was. When the ambulance came Ethan had a fan club of medical staff telling him goodbye. Apparently he is a popular patient but then again, how could he not be? Look at this sweet face!
I won't go through the day to day of our stay at Childrens' but I want to say their doctors (ALL of them) are truly incredible. I mean, wow! They did do the procedure and could not drain much fluid at all. Apparently the infusion was segmented so there were several pockets and the fluid had actually hardened so there was no way to drain it. The two options left were surgery (literally opening him up and scraping it all out) or hoping the body would absorb it over time with long term antibiotics. The surgeons did not think the risks of surgery were worth it so they decided to go with the antibiotics route. They had told us this may take a long time for his body to absorb it and surgery was not completely ruled out for the future if it did not heal.
He was released the day before Christmas Eve. Merry Christmas to us and Happy Birthday to Ethan! For those who don't know his birthday is on Christmas Day so he has been our little miracle since the beginning. Fast forward 4 days... remember that, FOUR days... and we went in for a follow up doctor appointment and an ultrasound. The nurse called me late that afternoon and told me the ultrasound showed nothing. Nothing! No effusion, no pneumonia. I asked her how that was possible and she said she didn't know but that it was completely clear. Wow! I don't know why I was shocked because I knew God had this. Aside from my emotional roller coaster and wavering strength my faith was steadfast. I knew without a doubt God would heal my baby but I did not expect him to be healed that quickly. Praise God! Ethan is now 100% back and we are so incredibly grateful!
It goes without saying that our families are so supportive and helped out tremendously while we were in the hospital. My mom was there every day to lend a hand or just be there for company. My dad and Garrett's parents visited very often as well. Garrett's uncle brought us by some of his ridiculously yummy BBQ. It took everything in us to not chow down when he brought it at 9 am! :) Check out 4 T's BBQ and Catering here... they are in Forney but they also cater.
I am so blessed to have such great friends. We had friends come visit in the hospital with food, care packages and gifts for us and the boys. I love how well they know me, too - can't go wrong with wine and Target gift cards! We also had friends volunteer to keep Garrison overnight to give him some normalcy and fun in the midst of all of this. Y'all know who you are and I am so very thankful for your encouragement, prayers and love through all of this.
I think one reason I have waited so long to blog about this is because I feel like I lack the proper words to completely convey this journey. When I heard this Jeremy Camp song the other day I realized I can sum it up in two words - "Overwhelmed" and "Overcame".
I was overwhelmed...
I was overwhelmed with sadness for my baby. I was overwhelmed with God's presence while singing praise and worship songs at my baby's bedside night after night. I was overwhelmed with a feeling of peace knowing that so many prayer warriors were lifting Ethan and us up. I was overwhelmed with gratitude for family and friends who stepped in. Most of all I was overwhelmed with God's healing power and grace for us.
Jesus overcame.
The definition of overcome is control, master, conquer, defeat. Jesus had everything under control so I did not have to worry. Jesus mastered, conquered and defeated Ethan's sickness.
Savior, worthy of honor and glory. Worthy of all our praise. You overcame.
Jesus, awesome in power forever. Awesome and great is your name. You overcame.
We will overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony. Everyone overcome.
Photo/Video Recap
Here are some updated photos and videos I wanted to share with y'all of the last few weeks. Enjoy!
We tried keeping it light in the hospital. This is one of the many reasons I love my husband.
One of Ethan's trips out of the room. He loved listening to this piano player and the man kept looking over and giving Ethan a wave and a smile.
Boys being boys! Like I said, back to normal at home! :)
Christmas Morning at HOME! :)
Family Picture - thanks Garrett! :)
Happy Birthday Ethan!
Sweet Cousins
More Sweet Cousins
Posing like mannequins... I can't tell you how many people laughed at them!
Check out Ellie's hand on the hip action.
Oy vey...
Certificate to a painting class... thanks Grammy!
Can't wait for them to come back in town to use these!
Doesn't get much sweeter...
Spending some Christmas money at Build a Bear
He loved it!
Garrison, Horns (his longhorn), Ethan and Puppy (because we knew he would call him that anyways). :)
NYE at Grammy and Papa's
Grammy cooking away...
While the boys play... I mean grill (some YUMMY steak and crab legs I might add)!
We brought the pups and they did GREAT!
Mama and sweet E
Giving Boogie some New Year's loving!
Popping poppers with Papa!
Overall I would say 2013 was a fantastic year!
- Garrison played baseball in the spring and fall and is now playing basketball for the first time. He is doing great in 2nd grade and I love his teacher.
- Ethan is talking up a storm and as cute (and stubborn) as ever. We are so blessed to have his amazing sitter and my friend in our lives.
- We are blessed with some incredible family and friends (old and new).
- I joined the worship team at church and am loving it. I have also been trying to spend more time with my girlfriends and feel like I have strengthened a lot of those relationships.
- Garrett became a serious hunter and the boys and I get to reap the benefits with some awesome deer meat.
- We are all healthy.
- We have each other.
- We have Jesus!
~Jewels*
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