To Hell and Back

I know it got a little quiet around here but for very good reason. Katie became very ill this week and was hospitalized.

It all started last Sunday. We had just arrived at our monthly FCC Social Lunch and Katie started showing signs that something was brewing. All of you mama's know what I mean about the signs..the ones that are impossible to miss when you are a mother. We know every nuance of our children's personality. For Katie, those signs show up in the fact that our normally happy go lucky girl becomes emotional and no matter how hard you try to ease her mood a bit she will not lighten up. For us, that is the signal that she is about to get slammed with something that will not be good.

Once again, the mama instinct was right on and by that evening Katie was congested. We kept her home the next day from Preschool with congestion and a cough. I thought for sure she would just miss one day of school but unfortunately by that evening she was on fire....105 degrees off and on all night (in the tub...out of the tub and over again)....so we set off to the Pediatrician first thing the next morning. She looked and listened and told me that Katie had Pneumonia and an ear infection. What?!? In just over one day???...unbelievable!! Our Doctor put Katie on a very strong Antibiotic and breathing machine treatments every four hours. She instructed us to come back in two days so that her health could be assessed again as she was quite concerned. To make a long story short, the very next day our Doctor called to see how Katie was doing and then upon hearing me tell her of Katie's continued difficulties, she asked me to bring her in immediately so that she could take a look at her. She looked and listened again for 2 minutes and then sent me to the hospital...NOW!! She called ahead so that we would be seen immediately. Thankfully we were taken in immediately since the whole freakin' world thinks that they have swine flu right now and a bunch of them were in the emergency room....sheesh!

The Doctors in the ER did their looking and listening and add in xrays and a Swine Flu test which was negative. BTW, this was more painful than you can imagine since they swab all the way up the nasal cavity almost up to the eye...just what my poor girl needed. The verdict - she needed to be admitted. I had been hoping against hope that our Dr. was being an alarmist and that this was just a false alarm but that was not the case. The ER doctors don't even normally hospitalize for Pneumonia's anymore but they were concerned about her overall condition and her poor respiration.

They proceeded to prep her to go upstairs and put her IV in. Katie is a trooper and she was so brave. Her poor Daddy was too upset to watch and had to leave the room but Katie and I have "girl power" and we can handle most anything....that is our mantra!! Can't blame daddy though, since the sight of his princess being in pain brings my strong man to his knees.

The next 36 hours was a nightmare as we waited for the relentless fevers to subside, her horrendous coughing fits where she struggled to breathe to abate or for her to show any sign of wellness. She cocooned into a shell and stopped speaking; looking at us with eyes full of fear and searching for answers. We longed to be able to tell her and ourselves when this horrible time would end. With each breathing treatment, back pounding, stick of the needle and medical intervention our hopes for the big turn around rose and fell time and time again.

Marc and I took shifts of 12 hours each so that she would always be with one of us and as one shift would end and the others would begin, we would report to the other any changes and always searching the other for that glimmer of hope. Finally, on Thursday night, I drove home at 9:00 PM utterly exhausted and totally depressed; not to mention my mind was beginning to go to very dark places. I knew that the big change could come at any moment but what if it didn't? I am not one to ask G-d for special favors but now I was praying and begging that our precious girl, that we love more than there are words to express, be freed from this pain and put on the road to recovery. At 11:00 PM, I called Marc to say goodnight and to inquire as to whether she was sleeping and as he answered the phone, I heard the most beautiful sound in the world......Katie was laughing and telling knock knock jokes!!!! Marc said she had just finished singing a song from Mary Poppins which she had just seen a few days before. OMG!!! I knew that she had a long way to go but I also felt that she had turned the corner and that she would be coming home soon!!! I arrived the next morning, after getting Ethan off to school, to a much different scene; Katie was interacting and was on the road to recovery. The Doctor arrived at noon and told us that if she could stay fever free for 24 hours then we could take her home and rehab her there. She would be much more comfortable and could heal better in her own surroundings. She still had a long way to go but she was on finally on her way.

Today at 2:00 PM we were able to exit the hospital and this time with our daughter....what a glorious day.

A special thank you to my folks. My parents are so wonderfu. My dad picked up the slack with our work and my mom came every day to help us with Ethan for a couple of hours so that Marc and I could be with Katie together for a bit. She also spent lots of time with me at the hospital. Unfortunately, we were not able to have my MIL and FIL involved at all as we would not risk my MIL bringing any nasty bugs home to my FIL, who is already ill with the effects of Diabetes.

Thank you to my friend Minouche who had Ethan for several hours when we first had to admit Katie and to many of my family and friends who visited, sent cards and gifts to Katie. Also, to our TBO family who reached out to us in many ways. Our wonderful Rabbi even made it a point to check on Katie and would have visited her but we insisted that we would be bringing her home soon so she would see him at school. I also found facebook to be a wonderful form of communication with friends and family to let them know what was going on quickly and just once instead of over and over. The outpouring of support that we received was nothing short of phenomenal. I received more messages, both public and private than I could even count and it was overwhelming and uplifting.

Our week from hell brought about a bright side for me as I had a paradigm shift in perspective. It is no secret that we have been struggling with the closing of my real estate business and the huge financial distress that it has wrought on our lives. The emotional turmoil and worry although normal is useless. Life means nothing without your loved ones to enjoy it with.....absolutely nothing. Don't take one moment for granted was the message that I received this week in a huge way. I also received it verbally by the pediatric ICU nurse who took care of Katie. She has been doing this for 30 years and she has seen more than once that life can end in a moment...do not take it for granted. I vow to remind myself of that fact when I get caught up with those negative feelings as I am sure that I will, as I am only human. Sharing our lives with our family and friends is a gift not to be taken for granted.

Some of these pictures were taken with the camera on my phone so the quality is not so good but they give a little synopsis of the week we had. Thank you again to one and all. We love you.

As Katie became ill, our beloved fur baby was always by her protecting her

In the hospital, sick and scared.

Taking a turn for the better. Coloring is a good sign.

I would do anything to see her smile

On the day that she was released, my sister called to say hi and this was the reaction that we got.

I am outta here!!

From Our friends at Temple Beth Orr

Priceless

Katie's first nap back at home..there is gabby by her side. She slept for over 3 hours..I think it was the first time she felt relaxed and safe in almost a week. Below I was giving her a breathing treatment and she was so out of it she never even woke up.

Welcome home precious girl....it is so good to have you back where you belong!!