There's no place like home.......

After being separated from my husband and kids for the last 10 days - there is definitely NO PLACE LIKE HOME!!! The whole thing started on Friday, April 17. We had 4 extra kids in our home for the weekend - which was fine. I really don't have a problem with extras - they just play with each other and have a lot of fun. There is just a bit of extra cooking and cleaning to do, but kids are great helpers too. Matt was off for the entire weekend too, so I really was not too stressed out about it. Around noon on Friday I started getting a bit of a fever and a headache and so I took some Tylenol and didn't think much of it. On Saturday this continued and I actually spent most of Saturday evening in bed while Matt made supper and cleaned up after 9 kids. I really didn't want to go to church on Sunday, but there was a potluck after church and I thought it was an "easy out" for supper, so we packed everybody up and went. This whole weekend I was on Tylenol every 4 hours and continually dealing with going between being boiling hot and totally freezing. By Sunday evening, all our extras had gone home and I told Matt I had better go to the hospital and see if they could do anything for me. I had gotten the flu in March, and I visited the hospital then as well. They gave me an IV and pumped a couple of liters of fluid into me and I felt much better, so I assumed that the same would happen this time. So, off to the hospital I went. I was in quite quickly and they popped in the IV and started the fluids. I really did feel quite a bit better on Monday, but it only lasted until about the early afternoon. Since I was babysitting a couple of little girls - I was glad I made it through the day and was very glad when Matt got home and took over - again! Tuesday was a quiet day - after getting the three oldest off to school, I let Rebecca watch TV all day and I just sat and held Sarah while she napped. By that afternoon though, I did not have the strength to even get up off the chair I was sitting on and had to call Matt and tell him to take the day off on Wednesday because I really needed some help. When Matt got home he and Roger (thank goodness Roger was visiting for a couple of days!) gave me a blessing and took me to the hospital again. They took me in quite quickly and again another IV was put in. This time though, they took an x-ray and found that I had pneumonia in my left lower lobe, right lower lobe and right middle lobe of my lungs. They kept me in the ER for the night and tried to see if I could handle the antibiotics they wanted to try me on - apparently they can cause some nausea. I did ok with them, but in the morning my oxygen levels started to drop, especially when I tried to stand up. So, they brought down a respiratory tech and he did a test called a blood gas where they take blood directly from your artery in your wrist and see how much oxygen is actually in your bloodstream. Well, mine was only at 59% (it should be above 80%), so they found me a bed upstairs and started me on IV antibiotics. And that began my LONG hospital stay. They were quite concerned with the baby, as they wanted to be sure that there was enough oxygen for the both of us, so on Thursday morning they did an ultrasound. It was quite ironic that I actually had my ultrasound booked for that Thursday afternoon, so things went as planned there. The ultrasound tech was training a new student, so they were talking lots and making sure they had everything they needed - it was very interesting seeing all the parts of the brain, heart, stomach, kidneys - you name it! Matt and I have never found out what we were having and really preferred to keep it a surprise, but I guess being sick and not totally being myself I had a momentary lapse in brain function and asked if they could tell if it was a boy or a girl. I don't think I really expected an answer quite so quickly - I thought they would have to look around a bit - but the tech quickly told me that we are having a BOY!! I was a little shocked and had to ask again, but he was quite certain - the only thing I was a little sad about was that Matt wasn't there to share the moment with me. I do think that he is a little bit excited though! The ultrasound was absolutely normal and our little one seems no worse for the wear even though his mom wasn't doing so hot at the time. Throughout the rest of the weekend I started to feel better and was itching to get home. I really thought that by the following Tuesday (my birthday) I would be home, but they couldn't keep my oxygen levels up. They did another blood gas on Wednesday and it had only risen to 62%, so the next morning they did an ultrasound on my leg to see if I had a blood clot - nope, nothing. Then they wanted to do a VQ scan that afternoon, but the radiologist said it wouldn't show anything but the pneumonia and wouldn't do it. Then - to be sure there wasn't a blood clot in my lungs - they did a CAT scan on Thursday afternoon. The results were absolutely normal as well, so apparently I just have a really nasty pneumonia that is refusing to go away and let my lungs function properly. The doctors wanted to keep me in the hospital until I was better (it had already been 10 days - how much longer was this going to take!), but I really said I wanted to go home. I really missed my husband and my kids!!! They tested my blood gas again - still 62% and not high enough for the baby, BUT apparently not low enough to qualify for government funding for an oxygen tank at home. So, we footed the bill and rented the tank ourselves and I am HOME!! It felt so good to sleep in my own bed next to my awesome husband with no lights going on and off, no alarm bells ringing and no nurses coming to say "we need to check your blood pressure again!". I am so deeply grateful for everybody that has brought in meals, cleaned my house, helped take care of my kids, etc, etc, etc. Matt has done an amazing job being both Mom and Dad for the last 2 weeks and I am so totally in love with this amazing man. Granted, he is pretty wiped, but I love him for it. I am totally looking forward to going to Time out for Women with my sisters and Mom today - oxygen tank and wheelchair and all! It feels good to be alive. I don't know why this all happened, but I do know that my faith in my Father in Heaven, my husband, my marriage and my family has been undeniably strengthened because of it. There's always a silver lining - and there is NO PLACE LIKE HOME!!!