Sick Kid

I've decided this week that there's nothing that can make you feel like the world's worst parent than a trip to the Emergency Room! I'm not a trained medical professional and maybe I'm not even skilled and observant enough to qualify to be a mother.

Sunday night I had to take Jenna Beth to the ER because she had a 104 temp. She had a little cough for a few days, but no fever and I didn't think it sounded like a serious cough. I think they need to give new mother's a video of various coughs that we can watch to help us identify when our kids have a serious cough versus a typical throat clearing cough! The whole time they were asking me questions about this and that, I felt like I was being judged for being clueless. Maybe I was just being oversensitive.

Nonetheless, after watching my baby girl scream bloody murder as she was poked and prodded and x-rayed, they determined that she would need to be admitted for bronchiolitis. You can imagine my despair and the mental agony I was in. Not only was I enduring the pain of hearing my baby was seriously ill, I was alone and had to immediately start thinking about what I was going to do with Bailey and Maverick while I was confined to the hospital with Jenna Beth. At the same time, I was doing all of my communication with the outside world with a phone that was about to die!

Thankfully, the Lord knew before all of this happened that I would need great help! He provided a friend who was willing to let the boys spend the night at her house until Monday morning when I could come up with a plan of attack for them. He also provided a Grammy a truckload to California that would pass through El Paso at about 2:30am Monday morning! Mom waltzed into the hospital and became the primary provider for the boys until Jenna Beth was released from the hospital. He provided a charger for my phone via a friend and fellow iPhone user. He understood how important it was for me to have access to that phone to contact LT and others who were key in lessening the stress of this situation. He provided friends who dropped by the hospital to bring McDonald's and Starbucks! He also provided a gift shop where I was introduced to my new favorite candy bar - Twix PB. Wow!!

Jenna Beth is all better now. She's on a nebulizer treatment as needed and 10 days of antibiotics. She's happy and content and you would never know she was in the hospital 2 days ago. She has been catching up on her sleep since sleeping in the hospital was hard for her. She had an IV and a stabilizing board on one arm and couldn't suck that thumb! It was so hard and pitiful watching her try to get comfortable enough to sleep.

Thanks to all who prayed and encouraged us through a couple of hard days this week!