Where does time go?
Something happened on Thursday that our family once again wasn’t expecting…Cayden our sweet 2 yr.old was admitted into the hospital after an ER visit revealing he had pneumonia! In a way i am still speechless, but obviously have enough to say to recount the events here for all who keep our family and the ministry in prayer as God works through us here in TN.
Mimmy and Doodlebug!
Wednesday was a normal day except Cayden had a runny nose. Nothing gross or major just a little drip here and there. (He often does this with teething so i didn’t think too much about it.) Wednesday evening we hosted small group because the awesome couple who normally hosts were in Vegas for a photgraphy convention. Cayden ran around and played like normal, except now he seemed to have a cough. The cough kept getting heavier so around bed time it was triaminic time, i thought sarcastically, “great we have a cold and didn’t know it now all these sweet people are gonna get it too!” “What a pain for them!” All seemed well, a little after the medicine kicked in the final guest left, i heard him cough once before i drifted off to sleep and it seemed smooth sailing from there. Not so! Poor baby woke up around midnight and was not comfortable at all! This child is like his Mama, he like his sleep, enough said…so for him to up calling for us and wanting to sit/sleep with us i knew something was up, in particular his temperature was. Tylenol took care of that for a while as he and i slept upright on the sofa most of the night. It seemed as soon as we got to sleep he would wake up with the fever spiking. Next morning he just was not himself so i watched him closely his fever would only go down with tylenol then he started breathing heavy. We have a new insurance plan for the boys so i had been attempting to get an appt. with a local Doc here and of course there is/was mucho “red tape” as they say. SO, i had a plan in my head if he were not any better by the time Chris got home with the car we were going to the ER. You guessed it, we were in the ER within 30 minutes…thankfully.
Cayden had a fever of 103.5 and was using all kinds of muscles to breathe—it was some heavy/rapid breathing going on, i was so nervous for him! Within the hour he had been given fluid and antibiotic in an I.V., Motrin, along with an albuterol pediatric dose of a breathing treatment, and all started looking up. He was so tough as Alford men are, but so, so sweet and calm (he kept talking about ladybugs, birds and butterflies for some reason). Of course the I.V. hurt but he sat there still with the saddest little cry, i wanted to cry, but something helped me be tearless for him although my insides were turning inside out! Odd thing was the RN who placed the I.V. was a classmate and friend from middle school who just so happened to be the nurse who placed Chris’s I.V. four weeks ago! She is fantastic at her job and just as beautiful inside and out as she ever was…even in that i think God was comforting my aching heart for our little guy…having confidence in someone knowing they are good at what they do, it’s all about trust.
Cayden was up eating saltine crackers and drinking a bottle of gatorade and water. He would say, “I have a boo, boo. I have a hurt. Kiss it please.” A side note- we have been working on manners, please isn’t as common as thank you, so it was so cool to hear him say please-
He sat so good on the bed and behaved so well, i thought he might get out of sorts a little, but he was a trooper for sure. At one point he was admitted as mentioned to the hospital-not just the ER, but then a great pediatrician much like one of our favorites in SC., who is now retired, came in to examine Cayden. To our surprise and his, he said, “It looks like you may be going home.” Cayden’s progress was noted and he was above and beyond where they thought he would be in just a few hours. The x-rays revealed a slight patch of pneumonia on right front lobe of his right lung, so we were given two Rx and discharge papers…yeah! home sweet home! He was so glad to be in his bed, it was adorable to see him cuddle up with all familiar to him…i think this is how i will be upon my entry to Heaven, just give me Jesus’ or God’s arm and i’m good!
Cayden is up and doing things more normal for his fun and busy little character so of course this makes us smile. He had a follow up appt. the next day where his O2 levels were still doing wonderful, he was coughing less as well. Needless to say we are pleased with his progress and with the great care he/we received while in the ER and hospital yet again. Another great blessing is our new Doc! It is so good to finally have a Doc we trust that is close to us! The closest one we had whom we knew from living in the area previously was in Abingdon, VA., approximately 45 minutes away…
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR THOUGHTS, CALLS, VISITS, TEXTS, WELL WISHES SENT TO US IN ADDITION TO THE PETITIONS GONE TO THE FATHER IN PRAYER ON OUR BEHALF… again all was/is felt-God kept His promises and we are ever so grateful. the hope we have as a family is that each of you experience the same strength from our requests given to him on your needs and wants( thank you for keeping us informed on your lives, your family and your churches as well. In life it is good to know and feel you are not alone and that all are part of a grander picture/masterpiece than we could ever imagine. )
Blessings, Faith, Hope and Love be yours always…we love you guys!
Kristina and the Alford Crew
Well, this was our end of the week drama…hopefully things can be more calm for a while now…
(photo thanks to LucasBrownDesign)
