All's well that ends well

Ben and Gramma

Happy anniversary to Clay and me! We just realized that 12 years ago today we were in El Paso getting married! It's funny to think how much things can change in twelve years. We have had such a roller coaster of ups and downs in the last week, it's no wonder we didn't remember our anniversary until this afternoon.

After being taken to the hospital last Wednesday around noon, Ben quickly stabilized and now seems mostly himself. Wednesday night they wanted to keep him in the hospital over night to monitor him, so I went home, packed an over-night bag, and stayed with him Wednesday night at the hospital. Because the doctors thought Ben had some sort of a virus (he had a runny nose and a cough), we were put in the "airborne infection isolation room." Every nurse who came in had to suit up in plastic gown and mask every time they entered the room (until his respiratory panel came back negative the next day).

our scary hospital room door

I don't think I'd had that sleepless of a night since right after Ben was born. The fold-out chair-bed was like sleeping on creaky iron bars, and the nurses came in every hour or so to check Ben's vitals. At some point the machine Ben was hooked up to started to beep because his oxygen level dipped down below 90, so the nurses had to come in and adjust his position repeatedly. Luckily Ben only woke up twice during the night, but I don't think I got more than 2 and a half hours of sleep altogether.

hospital "cage"

The only thing that got me through that terrible night in any semblance of a good mood was that I assumed we would be discharged from the hospital that day (since Ben's vital signs were okay). The pulmonologist came in Thursday morning, however, and took a look at Ben and decided his breathing was still concerning enough that there were three more tests he'd like to run: an ultrasound to test for little heart defects (which came back just fine), an EKG to check out his lungs in detail (which we still haven't done), and a "sweat test" to see if he has cystic fibrosis (which finally this morning came back negative!).

the "sweat test"

an unhappy hospital moment

The doctor said that each of these tests would be a 4-6 hour out-patient visit to the hospital, but if Ben stayed in the hospital (admitted as a patient), we could get at least 2 of them done that day. The LAST thing in the world that I wanted to do was stay another minute in the hospital but I knew that it was the best thing to do. So Clay brought me breakfast, and I tried to keep Ben happy throughout another long day in the hospital. Now that he has learned to crawl, he really felt confined when he could only crawl in the hospital crib. The only good thing about Thursday was that the pulmonologist told the hospital Ben could be unhooked from all the machines, which made him a lot happier. The nurses were all very nice, and there was even a "volunteer grandma"at the hospital that came around and brought him toys and exersaucers to play in.

everybody (but especially grandparents) loves Benjamin

Clay's mom (as usual) rose to the occasion, and drove down Thursday from Oklahoma to help out during our hospital stay, and that made things so much better. Not surprisingly the hospital only managed to get one of the three tests done on Thursday, and the "sweat test" done Friday morning. (Clay went above and beyond    Friday the hospital's pediatrician mentioned some OTHER tests we might have done for Ben, but at that point I said we would just have to do them out-patient, and that we needed to get home. We didn't actually get discharged until Friday around 3 in the afternoon (Clay's mom made that wait so much more bearable, though!), and we all slept so much better Friday night!

Since then San Antonio has had a bit of a flood--Saturday was the second rainiest day in San Antonio's history (we got almost 10 inches). We all stayed (mostly) high and dry, and after Clay's mom left for Oklahoma, my parents drove in from El Paso to spend the holiday weekend. A lovely time was had by all, and I finally, FINALLY feel like things might get back to normal.

"driving" grandma

Ben and his best bud (Luke)

Grandpa smack-down

lovin' the Hendrix