Memory

Hi, I'm back, sort of.  I have thought about logging my blah, blah, blahs but have preferred to enjoy the contentment that comes with a semi picked up and scrubbed house, a crockpot meal on the way or leftovers warming (such as now), my babies doing well and, yes, everyone did brush their teeth today.  My newborn is now almost five months old.  Steady head, grabbing toys and succeeding at holding them and, the first of my four children to have a "bed time".  God love my Nature's Nest hammock for him, Swaddle Me wraps and Dr. Harvey Karp and his white noise cd...cannot praise these tools enough.  And yes, I still sling my baby, I will breastfeed for about two years and love to bring our new boy to sleep in our bed at night when he wakes to feed.  All in all, doing good.

Just reminisced and got a belly laugh and a sobering recollection of a time, that is now, almost four years ago.  A pivotal time for our family and, thankfully, a time I chose to write.  Here it goes:

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Day one, June 14th Saturday

Late around 8pm, Winston gets hungry for dinner. He napped while we ate our supper. I was washing organic strawberries so he and I split the box. I noticed he gobbled them up without chewing very well. Guess he was really hungry.

12:30am, asleep and awakened by Winston crying/fussing for nah-nah. I did the usual and offered him water. He refused at first which is usual. He layed down then sat up and was totally silent…that was weird. I opened my eyes to see a dark area in front of him. I hollered for Martin asleep in the den. He flicked on the light and Winston had been face down in a pool of strawberry vomit on the bed sheets about 10 inches wide.



Day two, June 15th Sunday



I realize we need the BRAT diet for Winston. Martin and I do a lot of holding and somehow I make breakfast for us then get dressed to go alone to town for these things. Winston has a horrible odiferous liquid diarrhea diaper before I go. While gone, I get a call from Martin that Winston was sleeping on him on the couch and then suddenly vomited all over Martin. They get Winston washed but Martin just changes clothes. I struggle to get home as soon as possible.



That night, I made Eggplant and Artichoke Paremesan, we ate and Winston had eaten the BRAT about two hours earlier. He is fussy, stumbly and seems ready for bed while we are eating. Martin does dishes as I get Winston dressed for bed. We get in, lights out and I offer to nurse. He never even latches, we have been there for less than five minutes and all of the BRAT, he vomits on our family bed. That’s two sets of sheets and two cotton undercovers down. Martin opens the shower and Winston and I fully clothed get in and begin to rinse off to start. I even had it on my face, mouth and chest. Oh Lord.



We also discover red fire ants in our bedroom and Martin begins a lengthy fight against them.



Day three, June 16th Monday



I decided that I would take Winston in to see the doc. Martin had planned to go to work but reschedules things. Winston seems better but has another liquid explosion in his diaper and now I KNOW what a baby diarrhea diaper is like. Gunnar by the way, is still just fine. I try to get a grip on the already full laundry and now vomit laundry not to mention, my candida laundry from days ago. There is no fever, Winston still plays and goes outside and wants to eat and more importantly, drink so we carry on. Martin complains that his tummy feels funny. He takes it easy, eats lightly or not at all and naps a lot. He has started having the runs. The boys and I play indoors and watch some movies. At 2:30pm I have warmed pork stuffed mushrooms on the stove. I have a bowl of cottage cheese for myself. Martin emerges to go the bathroom and then returns to the bed only to emerge running as he vomits on the bathroom door, the floor and finally in the toilet. He sounds like a power washer cleaning a deck with at least five blasts. I put down my cottage cheese thinking about what I want to continue eating for when this thing hits me. I help Martin clean up and keep the boys out. He feels much better and even immediately finger brushes his teeth with toothpaste. An hour or so later, I ask….’so did it start with a rumbly stomach?’ “Yep”, he says. So at about 4ish pm, I get the runs and about 4:30ish pm I vomit the eggplant, mushrooms, everything into a bowl while my other end is on the toilet. Meanwhile, Winston is screaming to nurse. The vomiting and diarrhea is preceeded by hot and cold sweats and lots of intestinal and stomach cramping. For the rest of the day, even water makes mine and Martin’s stomach’s cramp. At one point, our bored and healthy 4 ½ yo is told by Martin to ‘shutup!’…oh what a bad day. I still had to nurse with sore nipples from being 10 weeks pregnant because Winston was ill and ill babies want to nurse more whether or not mom is well. His wiggling body bumping my body and making me want to retch again and again….it was awful. At 1:30am, Winston wanted to nurse and I had no more milk. He is teething molars too so I got him a frozen teether, he did not want it. I then brought the blender into the sandbox and made ice chips…Martin joined the party and held and fed Winston while I fed myself the wonderful chips. Why were we blending in the bedroom? Gunnar was asleep on a mattress in the house because we had fire ants in the sandbox (our bedroom, we call the sandbox) and Martin had not yet figured out what to do about them. Gunnar had awakened with ant bites in the corner of his eye and mouth that morning. The ice chips made my tummy churn but my mouth happy. Martin rocked Winston to sleep and tucked him and me back into bed. He returned to the house where Gunnar was still asleep. We also put a bowl by Gunnar figured if he got sick, it would hit the wood floor instead of the carpet in the bedroom.



Day four June 17th Tuesday, Recovery Day



Just that. We watched My Fair Lady, Pure Country and probably some other kiddie videos too. Martin and I took turns napping. The boys were a little stir crazy. Martin still did his chores..the donkeys, the cats, the dog, the garden and I think we had cereal for dinner. ;-) That was a step up from the nibbling we had been doing.



Day five June 18th Wednesday



I made Huevos Rancheros for breakfast and ate half mine…Martin all. The boys nibbled. We then went to give the Wash. Co. Appraisal District our tax protest and then to Charro T Mexican Restaurant. I had cheese enchiladas, Martin had chicken enchiladas and Gunnar quesadillas…Winston had chips and queso…ick. I drank root beer. It was okay and nice not to have to make lunch or eat the turkey/sweet potatoes I made in the slow cooker on Monday.



Day six June 19th Thursday



Martin goes back to work but tells me the diarrhea is back. He then went to the oral surgeon and got news that he has mouth cancer.
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And so now, here we are, four years later.  God is still sovereign, still full of justice and righteousness and perfect love and His plan daily unfolds for my family.  Thank you Father for the challenges.  Each and every one.  Thank you for my husband and my children and, the cancer.