Oh, the DRAMA!!!

I'm sure everyone has been too busy to notice the lack of new information posted on my blog. Even if you did notice, you probably just thought the normal Christmas activity has kept me from my writing. Well, in some ways, you'd be right. But, unfortunately, we've had a lot more going on than that.

Claire woke up with a very high fever Tuesday morning. Even though it seems every family in Clinton is fighting sickness in some form, CMG was able to fit us in by 9:30. At that time, we found out that Claire has RSV. The good news is that we caught it early. Her symptom at that point was just the high fever. But, Dr. Russell assured us that the cough, yucky nose, and breathing trouble was on its way.

I also found out that RSV lasts 6 to 8 WEEKS. I did not know that. Of course, the worst of the sickness won't linger that long, and she won't be contagious that long. But, still, 6 to 8 weeks is a long time when thinking about being ill. Well, let me just be honest...it's a long time to think about dealing with a baby that is ill.

Things got interesting quickly. Tuesday night, Claire's fever shot up extremely high at about 7:00 and she had a seizure. She has done this once before, so I wasn't completely shocked. But, your child having a seizure is not something you ever get "o.k." watching.

We called 911 and rode in the ambulance to UMC. The doctors and nurses were extremely nice and very good. They took blood and urine, ran tests, and gave Claire a round of antibiotics. She did fabulous and we were in and out pretty quickly for an ER visit.

They are pretty sure that this was just another febrile seizure. Our doctor at CMG is out for the week. But, the doctor that we saw would like for us to go ahead and see a neurologist for scans. Emotionally, I can't really deal with that right now, so maybe I'll post more on that another day. Today, though, she is fine -- just a little whiny. Her fever is staying down finally. We are giving her Tylenol and Motrin around the clock. She is also getting an antihistamine/decongestant, oral steroid and breathing treatments. Yes, we are medicating all day long.


So that's what has been going on in our home. We've also been wrapping presents, delivering presents, watching preschool Christmas programs, attending field trips, planning Kindergarten Christmas parties, attending preschool Christmas parties, baking goodies and delivering goodies.

As school comes to an end today, I feel like I can breathe a sigh of relief. The crazy part of this holiday is behind us and we can slow down now. I no longer have the stress of getting the boys to school on time and getting gifts to teachers before they are gone for the holiday. But, the really amazing thing is that I have enjoyed it all.

I guess I'm kind of a "mommy nerd", because I have always looked forward to being the Mom that is able to do all the field trips and parties. So, even though all of these things added to the stress of Claire being sick, I completely enjoyed being able to do it. (Oh, and just so you don't think I had to drag Claire out on all of these ventures, I'm also thankful that Scotty's schedule is so flexible. He and Claire have been enjoying some quality time together at home.)

So, it looks like there will be no holiday travel for little Claire this year, and that is a little frustrating. But, I am going to try to enjoy tucking in and enjoying our home for the holidays. Maybe things got so frantic for me during this past week just so I could thoroughly enjoy slowing down -- or maybe even stopping.

I will share one Christmas thought that has struck me pretty hard this week. On Sunday, we were singing "O Come Let us Adore Him" in church. I was literally moved to tears over the thought of Christ coming as a baby. The whole idea is just so odd. He was The King, but He was a baby. He was God's Son.

I have felt very protective of Claire this week. Leaving her with anyone except Scotty has not been an option. The thought of handing her over to someone else while she is in somewhat of a fragile state would not be possible. But, God handed His son over to us in the most fragile of human conditions -- infancy. There is no other motivation that would move God to do such a thing -- His love for us.

Thank you to all of you that have checked on us this week. We have certainly felt loved in so many different ways. From the First Baptist staff member that almost beat us to the ER on Tuesday night to those of you that have brought meals to the offers to take the boys for the day, I have been completely overwhelmed by the thoughtfulness.

So, I hope the only excitement we will see now is that of Collin when he opens up all of this new costumes. Or, Caleb when he sees the Wii. But, if there is still drama associated with sickness, I just pray that God will gift us with more of the endurance we have felt from Him so far.