Hospital Visit

Well, I always figured that Abby would be the reason for my first visit to the ER. She's so active! I never suspected it would be David!

Last Friday, I got David up from his nap and was shocked to see that the left side of his neck was completely swollen and hard. I immediately heard God say "Take him to the hospital." I piled the kids in the car and off we went to our little local emergency room.

(You can kind of see the swelling under his ear.)

The ER doc was pretty sure it was just a severe case of strep, but that test came back negative. The blood test, that was taken as an after thought, showed David's white blood cell count to be six times higher than normal. After a quick phone call to Emmanuel Children's hospital in Portland, they took a chest xray (to rule out Pneumonia and make sure his throat wasn't obstructed) and sent us out to Emmanuel. Yikes!

(Finally got an IV in - time to sleep!)

Once at Emmanuel, David was seen by numerous Infectious Disease specialists, pediatricians, Ear Nose & Throat docs and lots of wonderful nurses. They determined that, along with being dehydrated and having a very high fever, David had somehow managed to get a bacteria (Staph) infection in the left lymph node of his neck.

(David wasn't feeling very good, but he still enjoyed the clown visit and bubbles!)

They plied him with fluids and antibiotics and gave him round the clock care. We finally began to see some results around Sunday morning and were released from the hospital Sunday night, with instructions to stay nearby for a couple of days to ensure that he continued to get better before going all the way home.

(Finally feeling a bit better!)

David is currently doing well - Praise the Lord!! The swelling is going down a tiny bit each day and he is pretty much back to his normal happy-go-lucky self. Thanks to everyone who prayed for our family - we so much appreciate it! David's initial condition was very dangerous and could easily have taken his life if it had not been treated immediately. We are so thankful for God's provision and all the support of family and friends. The hospital staff were amazing as well! It's nice to finally be home and on the mend. :)