Out with a bang!

Just a quick post to update everyone on our absence. Sorry I have no pictures to post. Chris has the camera with him. We have been in California since last Tuesday (9/28). Chris was out here working and the boys and I tagged along to play with our friends. Our travel plans included hanging out with friends, eating yummy So Cal food, visiting with Mickey at Disneyland and returning to GA this past Monday the 1st. We did many of the above but as usual when traveling with children, flexibility is the name of the game. Be careful what you wish for...we both were saying how we never feel like we have enough time to make all our rounds and have quality time with everyone. "It would be nice to have a few more days...". Needless to say we ended our trip with a bang!

We planned on seeing Mickey and friends last Wednesday. Nope...the boys were much too out of sorts to see Mickey on Wednesday as they were still on East Coast time and ready for bed at 5! Thus we moved our visit with Mickey to Sunday. We had dinner plans with friends on Saturday night but again...nothing is as planned with kids. Peyton woke up from his nap with a 102 temp and there went our plans. This was the beginning of it all:(

By Sunday am Parker had a fever. That night Peyton had a croupy cough and was wheezing while running around outside. To make a very looong story short. Both boys ended up with croup and for some reason it hit Peyton really hard. 3:30 am Monday I took Peyton to the closest ER to where we were staying. His breathing was awful. He had stridor so bad it woke me up. They gave him 4 breathing treatments in the ER, a shot of steroids and a dose of antibiotics just in case it was a bacterial infection in his neck. Needless to say none of it was helping and by lunch time the transport team from Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) was there to pick him up and take him back to CHOC. I was never so glad to see a team of nurses and respiratory therapist whisk my son away in an ambulance. It's really too bad he was too sick to enjoy the ride. Parker however was thrilled to see the ambulance up close but got a bit concerned when they put "brough" inside. CHOC is where I worked in the Peds Intensive Care Unit (PICU)/ Peds Cardiovascular ICU for the 3 years we lived here. I knew he was in good hands as I had worked with the people on the transport team.

He had a rough night on the general peds floor and by Tuesday am they moved him to the PICU to treat him more aggressively and watch him closer. Thankfully the big dose of steroids they gave him kicked in and he made a 180 degree turn around.

Parker in the mean time was home with a 104 temp and stridor too. Thankfully it never affected his breathing like it did Peyton. Our old pediatrician here saw Peyton in the hospital and Parker in his office. He gave me some oral steroids to give Parker to get us through the night in hopes he would not end up like Peyton. It worked like a charm!

The team at CHOC took great care of Peyton. I could not have asked for better care. It was such a blessing we were in a place where I knew his health care team. I didn't worry for a minute when he went to PICU b/c those Dr's, nurses and RT's I worked with are wonderful. It was nice to not have that added stress. Yes, it would have been more convenient to have been in GA and at home...but knowing the people at the hospital caring for him made this bearable.

Peyton left the hospital today (Wed 3rd) and is doing MUCH better. He is wiped out and very tired but holding his own. Chris and Parker were finally able to fly home today and Peyton and I are scheduled to fly out tomorrow (4th). It is going to be WONDERFUL to be home and in our own beds! I can't wait to have my pillow back:)

We have coveted many of your prayers. Our So Cal family has taken great care of us. I am so thankful we were spending time there and not on some random family vacation on our own. Brad and Kim so graciously had us with them for our planned stay and of course continued to host us after our trip was delayed. I think they are going to put a huge bubble over their house and fumigate the place. In the time we were there we had 4 kids all under the age of 3... three of which had croup...fun times! Hey, misery loves company right?

I will post pics from our trip sometime next week when we get settled back into a routine. Having the kids give up goldfish and chocolate pudding for 3 meals a day is going to be rough. At least they have been drinking their milk right?

I think it would have been cheaper to go to Disneyland after all this. Forget saving for college. We are going to have to put a "sick" fund aside. It seems when our boys get sick they do it full out:) We are taking bets on how much the ambulance ride set us back. Any takers?

It could be something much worse. Thankfully it was only croup and he will have no lasting effects. I think he was the healthiest kid in the 24 bed PICU. It was great catching up with my old colleges...just not the way I expected.

So...this very long story to say "See ya real soon"! God has blessed us in many ways this extended trip and provided for all our needs. We are ever so thankful to our friends in CA and forever indebted to Brad and Kim. They have stepped up to the plate more times than we can count. This makes the 3rd time we have "lived" with them. They take in our boys like they are their own. Friends are so valuable and treasured in life. God has truly blessed us with wonderful friends everywhere we have lived. No place more evident and needed than the 3 years we lived in Southern California.

Counting our blessings,

Chris, Martha, Peyton, Parker...and baby Darley