Time

This article was written by Carolyn Hax, columnist for the Washington Post. I really think we could be good friends, me and Carolyn. It's an older article but I couldn't help but pass it along when my friend Jennifer shared it on her blog. Thanks Jen!



Carolyn:
Best friend has child.

Her: exhausted, busy, no time for self, no time for me, etc.

Me (no kids): Wow. Sorry. What'd you do today?

Her: Park, play group . . .
Okay. I've done Internet searches, I've talked to parents. I don't get it. What do stay-at-home moms do all day? Please no lists of library, grocery store, dry cleaners . . . I do all those things, too, and I don't do them EVERY DAY. I guess what I'm asking is: What is a typical day and why don't moms have time for a call or e-mail? I work and am away from home nine hours a day (plus a few late work events) and I manage to get it all done. I'm feeling like the kid is an excuse to relax and enjoy -- not a bad thing at all -- but if so, why won't my friend tell me the truth? Is this a peeing contest ("My life is so much harder than yours")? What's the deal? I've got friends with and without kids and all us child-free folks get the same story and have the same questions. Tacoma, Wash.




Dear Tacoma, Wash.
Relax and enjoy. You're funny.
Or you're lying about having friends with kids.
Or you're taking them at their word that they actually have kids, because you haven't personally been in the same room with them.
Internet searches?
I keep wavering between giving you a straight answer and giving my forehead some keyboard. To claim you want to understand, while in the same breath implying that the only logical conclusions are that your mom-friends are either lying or competing with you, is disingenuous indeed.

So, since it's validation you seem to want, the real answer is what you get. In list form. When you have young kids, your typical day is: constant attention, from getting them out of bed, fed, clean, dressed; to keeping them out of harm's way; to answering their coos, cries, questions; to having two arms and carrying one kid, one set of car keys, and supplies for even the quickest trips, including the latest-to-be-declared-essential piece of molded plastic gear; to keeping them from unshelving books at the library; to enforcing rest times; to staying one step ahead of them lest they get too hungry, tired or bored, any one of which produces the kind of checkout-line screaming that gets the checkout line shaking its head.
It's needing 45 minutes to do what takes others 15.
It's constant vigilance, constant touch, constant use of your voice, constant relegation of your needs to the second tier.
It's constant scrutiny and second-guessing from family and friends, well-meaning and otherwise. It's resisting constant temptation to seek short-term relief at everyone's long-term expense.
It's doing all this while concurrently teaching virtually everything -- language, manners, safety, resourcefulness, discipline, curiosity, creativity. Empathy. Everything.
It's also a choice, yes. And a joy. But if you spent all day, every day, with this brand of joy, and then, when you got your first 10 minutes to yourself, wanted to be alone with your thoughts instead of calling a good friend, a good friend wouldn't judge you, complain about you to mutual friends, or marvel how much more productively she uses her time. Either make a sincere effort to understand or keep your snit to yourself.


Being a stay at home mom has it's challenges but thankfully I get to put on makeup and get dressed up two days a week for my very part-time job. Despite the daily challenges, staying at home has it's perks too. I am driving to the beach tomorrow with my B.F.F's Elisa and Rachel to meet up with more good friends for some much needed girl time. Of course the children are coming with us but see?.... I make time for my friends!

Potty like a rockstar

I have decided to print my blog very soon and I feel the need to document such a momentous occasion.. in MY opinion, of course...Mason peed on the potty!!

I do feel like I need to disclose that in no way, do I feel like Mason is even close to being potty trained. In fact, I think we just got lucky and set him on the potty when the water was running and he felt the urge. I really don't plan to push the issue either..at least until I get back from my vacation in a couple of weeks. Who wants to be traveling while potty training....NOT ME!!! In case your wondering, Mason got a Caramel filled Godiva chocolate for his potty treat. I think Eric about cried when I told him there was only enough for Mason. He was green with envy.



I included some other recent video as well in case you care.

Mason's 2nd Birthday

Since Mason spent his entire birthday in the emergency room, I am so thankful we decided to have his party early when family was in town visiting. The theme was "cows" since he adores them so much. When we are driving down a country road and he sees cows, he gets so excited that sometimes I think he's going to cry tears of joy. How could I not do a cow theme?

My good friend and almost relative, Audrey, who has a growing photography business, came to capture the party. Didn't she do an amazing job?

Official 2010 Post by Eric

Rachel says that I haven't blogged in a long time and we've lost readers, so I have to say something.  I can't think of anything to write about, so I'll just talk about some random thoughts.

• I'm convinced no one in my generation knows how to grow grass.  I need to wear a mask at this time of year so that I don't pass out from the dirt storm.  My dad and father-in-law know how to grow very nice yards, but they haven't shared it with me yet.
• Speaking of grass, I hate yard work.  Every year, I think I like it until I start hating it again.  I think I would like it if my grass was thick and green and free of weeds.  When it's like that, I feel like I'm vacuuming it rather than mowing and it's more fun.  That grass at the top of the blog looks good.  I'd like to mow that.
• A couple of years ago, I paid to get sod in my yard.  Wow, it looked awesome for about 2 months.  It's embarrassing to have all of your sod die right in front of your neighbors.  It's like cheating on the test, but still failing. 
• Is the title of our blog supposed to have an apostrophe on the end of our last name?  It just doesn't feel right.
• Literally, why can't I stop saying 'literally' when it's not needed?  It's like 'like' for teenage girls.
• We went to Costco tonight.  As a treat for going shopping, I got a hot dog, slice of pizza, and a huge container of pub mix.  I was just going to get a hot dog, but for some reason it's hard for me to reason that $1.50 is enough food to get full.  Well, it's more than enough and I feel gross now.
• The only time I've ever thought Whoopi Goldberg was funny was when I saw a clip of her talking about how she threw her IPhone out the window.  
• I think that all bills that pass through congress should be required to be 10 pages or less with 14pt font.   Anything longer than that will always be filled with pork because they know most people won't read it.  
• Last week, I had my yearly viewing of Sneakers.  Love that movie.  I still laugh watching the blind guy driving the fan down the hill and then running into the side of the building.  
• USA, I'd like to introduce you to Greece.  You both have a lot in common.
• Mel Gibson, if I didn't have this plank in my own eye, I'd smack you across the head with it.
• I'm in the middle of reading about 6 books right now.  I just can't get into anything lately.  I think I just need to start looking for very short books. 
• The NAACP decided this week to condemn "racist" elements of the Tea Party, while failing to show any actual evidence. What a silly attempt to shade a negative light on a national movement that has nothing to do with race.
• Last weekend, I went to see the movie Grown Ups with a couple of friends.  But, for some reason, we ended up watching Eclipse.  That was one of the worst decisions of my life.  When it was over, we ran out quickly before the lights came on.  Please don't ask me any questions about it.  I'm going to deny it from now on.

Have a good weekend - Eric

Hopefully the final update!

The last couple of days have been a bit of an emotional roller coaster. On Tuesday, I sent Mason to Mother's Day Out so I could get back to work and catch up on things. When I picked him up they said he didn't have a good day and actually tripped and fell and was crying about his neck. Eric and I went into a little bit of panic mode since he just wasn't seeming to get any better. I called the doctor on Wednesday morning and requested that we go ahead and start physical therapy as soon as possible. That way, after a few days, if PT wasn't helping at all we could move onto the next thing to try to figure this out. When the Dr. called back he actually recommended that we go back to Vanderbilt for a Bone Scan.

It was at the end of the day on Wednesday when I was speaking to the nurse about preparation for the scan the next day. Mason and I happened to be in the mall, so I stopped at the indoor play area to let him play while I took down some notes from the nurse. As she is telling me that he will be sedated..again.. and will have to get an IV...again.. I am watching Mason tear up the playground. He was going down the slide, under tunnels, climbing up and down off the bridge. While still a little stiff, his neck movement had definitely improved. His appointment for the scan wasn't until 4:00pm today (Thursday) so I decided to observe him and make my decision this morning. I really made it earlier than that.

Last night Eric took Mason's head and moved it in the down motion and he didn't cry at all..in fact he kept a smile on his face the whole time. I called this morning and cancelled the scan with a confident feeling that he is finally improving!! I sent him to school today and they said he did much better. His neck is slightly stiff but his personality is back to normal and it's not even really all that noticeable anymore. No diagnosis was ever made but most of the specialist we talked to in the end say it was most likely a pretty nasty musculoskeletal spasm. A diagnosis doesn't really seem important anymore now that my baby is better. However, I do believe it definitely could have been more serious than that had we not had the unbelievable amount of prayers being lifted up for Mason. This has been a very scary 2 weeks for us but your prayers and encouragement have meant the world to us. Thank you!

Back to normal...almost

Life is starting to feel back to normal around here. Yesterday, we went to the pool and I even took Mason to the gym nursery while I worked out. Today we went back to the gym and he did wonderfully with no complaining of his neck hurting. Mason still will not moved his head to the down position....at all. He is adapting great though. Instead of playing with a toy on the floor he will put it on the table or couch to play with it so it is at his eye level. The massage therapist came out last night and I felt like it was a complete waste. He would barely let her touch him. I can't blame him after all he's been through with doctors, I wouldn't have let her touch me either. We have a chiropractic appointment on Wednesday so hopefully he will be loose enough for an adjustment. If he shows no improvement by then, our pediatrician has suggested Physical Therapy.

He still has a slight fever which tells me there is still some type of infection in the body trying to be fought off. It feels good to be back to normal activities but we are still hoping he moves his neck soon.

I will leave you with some pics of some of Mason's better moments of his stay at VCH.

Starting to feel a little full from the cupcake.

Weekend

Today has been a great day for Mason. He slept until 8:00 and layed in bed with Lazy ME until 10:00am. While I went to the gym, Mason and Eric went to hang out on the farm with Mimi and Big Daddy. I didn't want to him to play too hard so they pretended to ride the mule and according to Eric, he had a pretty good time. Mason played outside for a little bit while I got the weeds in my yard under control and then he took a three hour nap, thanks to our good friend, "Benadryl".

Most of the day he had been in a great mood and only when we moved him the wrong direction or when he trys to play a little too hard does he grab his neck in pain. We have kept him on Motrin/Tylenol most of the day and he had a slight fever tonight before bed. I can definitely see lots of improvement in today compared to the previous days.

Tomorrow we are planning on taking him to the pool in the morning and then tomorrow night, he has a massage therapist making a house call to hopefully loosen his muscles up so his neck can relax. Mason is still having decent range of motion moving his head from side to side but has made no improvement looking down. I will try to take some video tomorrow because it's interesting watching him play. If he drops something, he will squat down and keep his head tilted back and feel with his hands on the ground until he finds the item he is looking for (Similar to someone that is blind). Walking has been a challenge too and we have to try to keep the floor picked up since he isn't able to really see if he is about to trip over something.

Today is Brooke's birthday and since Ryan had to work we went to her out to her favorite restaurant: Suzy Wongs House of Yum. We didn't tell Eric until we got there that he had to walk through the gay bar "Tribe" to get to it. He was a little weirded out by that but the food made up for it. The name is correct. It is YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

Happy Birthday Brookie Poo! We love you!!
BTW- These next two pics are Harper's photography debut! Great pics Harper- doodle!

Follow up with Doctors

We all had a great night sleep last night. Mason and I had a full nights sleep for the first time in about 10 days. I woke up this morning and still felt like I could have slept for another day.

This morning, Eric headed back to VCH to pick up our records and images of Mason's MRI and CT scans. We headed over to Franklin Orthopedic to have Dr. Cook take a look at the images. We don't doubt that Vandy couldn't find anything but we felt like a fresh set of eyes and someone that specializes in musculoskeltal system couldn't hurt. As we kind of expected, he didn't find anything new but he did think whatever pain Mason is feeling is muscular and would hopefully work itself out in the next week or so. We left that doctor with another reassuring yet frustrated feeling.

From there, I decided as a last-ditch effort I would call my chiropractor, Dr. Berger, and see if he could take a look at him. When I got there Mason was whining and in some pain but tolerated Dr. Berger pushing on him a little bit. Dr. Berger felt around on Mason's neck and back (way more than any Dr. at VCH did) and told me he could definitely feel one particular muscle that was tight. He worked on it a little bit but told me that no real adjustments should be made until that muscle has relaxed a little bit. He is referring me to an infant massage therapist in the meantime to help Mason relax his muscles a little bit. In addition, I am giving Mason benadryl which is the closest thing to a muscle relaxer that a child his age can have.

All in all, if we go back and look at Williamson Medical Center's diagnosis of Torticollis, I think they came the closest. So.... two CT scans, an MRI, spinal tap, 4 IV's, and multiple blood draws later we are back where we started....HOWEVER, I am SO relieved to know that my child is perfectly healthy otherwise. I just wish he didn't have to endure all that to find that out.

Where we are right now...
Mason seems to be in a moderate amount of pain today. Running from Doctor to Doctor today has exhausted him and probably not helped his pain at all. He is happy laying on the couch watching TV. As much as I hate the amount of TV he has consumed this week, I am letting it go and will break him of this once he feels better. In the last few hours he is really grabbing and complaining of his lower back..right about the spot of the spinal tap. I am just going to assume he is still sore from that. Since he is on Benadryl he is getting great sleep, it just takes him a while to get comfortable and settle down. We saw Mason's pediatrician today (yep that makes three doctors in one day) and he has ordered Mason to get as much rest as possible so I think we are in for a low-key weekend hanging around the house.

I just want to say thank you once again to everyone that has been praying for Mason. I wish I could have responded to each message individually but we are so blessed to have so many great friends and family checking on us and letting us know they were praying. I am so humbled by your response. THANK YOU!

At Home

We're at home now. The drive home was not pleasant. As soon as we left the hospital, Mason started having a lot of pain again and we considered turning around. We were both just very frustrated and felt like the last three days were a waste. We decided to get home and see if he would do any better at home. About 2 miles from home, he threw up twice all over himself in his car seat. We had a freak out moment and then decided to go home first and get him cleaned up before deciding if we should go back to the hospital.

As soon as we got him home and in the bathtub he was his old self again playing and splashing in the water. So, now we're left to wonder if he was just nauseous from the sedation medicine from the CT scan this morning and the car ride home and the heat just made him sick. We're going to assume it was unless it happens again. He has an appointment with his pediatrician in the morning and we're thinking about taking his imaging to an orthopedic specialist in Franklin. He still won't look down and side to side only very carefully. As long as he's not in obvious pain and the fever is gone, we're fine with being patient about his flexibility returning.

Final Update from VCH..hopefully

We just got the report back, once again the CT scan is clear and no abscesses or infections were present. Mason has been off all pain meds since 4am and seems to be doing fine. His neck is has started be be more aligned and has not full but better range of motion than he did when he got here. He still occasionally grabs his neck like it hurts but nothing like the pain he was in upon admission.

They've started to work on the discharge papers, so it looks like we'll be leaving today. Glad we are leaving, but it's scary to not know what caused this and not knowing if it will happen again down the road.

Update

Mason just got done with his CT scan and is starting to wake up. Everything went well except that he knocked his IV out at some point, so they had to put a new one in - his third. Fortunately, he was asleep for this one. The doctors just came in on their rounds and were about to head down to look at the scans. Someone down in the imaging department said it would probably be tomorrow before anyone looked at them, so we were thinking we were definitely in for another night. Hopefully, it will all be clear and they can send us home. If they do find anything, they'll probably start him on some antibiotics, but I'm not sure if we would stay or go. He's still in some pain when the Tylenol runs out but not as severe as he was a couple of days ago. I'm feeling like we'll get to go home today, but we'll see.

Eric

Roles Reversed

It really is strange being back in this hospital roaming the halls, but this time with my child as the patient. I worked here for two years and never fully grasped how foreign this place is to these families and how my tiny role impacted them. If you are one of my friends that still works here and happens to read this, please know you make a huge difference. Thank you.

Mason had a really great afternoon and evening. They moved his IV from his foot to his arm so he was finally able to get out of bed and walk for the first time in 3 days. We got a wagon rolled him down to the playroom a couple times and ventured out into other areas of the hospital. It was really nice to get out of the room with him because I think we were all starting to get a little depressed in there.

He has been in great spirits this afternoon and evening and still totally addicted to the TV. I made him turn it off for about 20 minutes and read some books with me. Hopefully he learned something today. They will come and get him at 7:30am for his CT Scan. We should know the results by about 9 or 9:30 and I will update as soon as we know something.

Once again, I want to thank everyone for your outreach of texts, calls, FB messages, visits, food, and gifts. While the last couple of days have been without a doubt, stressful, I have felt a definite sense of peace about the situation and I know that is a result of your prayers surrounding us. "Thank you" just doesn't seem like enough.

Tomorrow

2nd CT scan has been ordered but not until tomorrow. Hopefully it will be first thing in the morning because he can't eat 8 hrs prior. Mason has Tylenol in his system and is running a low grade fever but still appears to be "unhappy". We are waiting on an IV specialist to come and collect more blood from him. I am not sure what they are testing for now.

Eric and I are doing fine. Thanks to Brooke for fattening us up last night with pizza, wings, and Gigi's cupcakes. The guys from Eric's work dropped off about 10 bags of groceries, and our friends Jim and Melissa brought tons of books and activities to keep him busy. Brooke also brought Mason a Yo Gabba Gabba video and he's been requesting that over and over. He's also watched Elmo's potty time about 47 times this morning. I am pretty sure he will potty trained by the time we leave here.

More Scans

So here's another correction...His last pain meds were at 4am this morning (i guess I was sleeping) so it would make sense that they are starting to wear off and he is in pain again. The group of 8 doctors came in for rounds and decided that they wanted to do another CT scan to make sure that no pocket of inflammation has developed in the last two days. They also talked about doing some more blood work to compare numbers to see what may have changed in his blood counts. They have ordered the CT scan now so hopefully we will know more in the next few hours and will update you then. Thanks for your continued prayers.

Day 3

The Dr. came in this morning about 7am and tried to get him to move his neck a little bit and he had a little more range of motion from side to side and he even looked down which yesterday he couldn't do at all. Even better news, he hasn't had pain medicine since 10pm last night. However, in the last 10 minutes he's been grabbing his neck again and crying. He's also started grabbing his lower back but I think that might be related to him feeling the soreness from his spinal tap. They have ordered him some more medicine so hopefully he will be more comfortable soon.

There are talks of sending us home today. As much as I would love to have the comforts of home, I still feel very uneasy since he is not a whole lot is different from when we got here other than we have ruled out some very scary possibilities. His neck still hurts and he still has fever. I feel like the doctors are at the end of their rope and don't know what else to test him for so all they know to do is send him home and hope that it clears up on it's own. That's a very scary thought for me to have to see him in pain at home and not have immediate access to the the staff and drugs. I am so thankful they have not found anything serious but please pray the doctors press on to figure out the cause of his symptoms.


Patiently Waiting,

Wake up. I'm the doctor and I'm talking.

One of the strangest things is when you're asleep in the hospital on half of a couch and a doctor appears out of nowhere and starts talking to you like you're awake. Do they teach that in medical school? Just start talking to them and they'll eventually come around. That happened twice this morning and I didn't have my glasses on either time, so they were just a blur. It could have been the janitor for all I knew. I had no idea what they said for the first few minutes. I remember thinking the second guy sounded a lot like Mason's pediatrician, but I couldn't figure out why he would be at the hospital. But sure enough, it was him. Dr. Chambers was here very early to check on Mason.

As for Mason, all of the tests are still coming back negative. The best sign is that his fever hasn't come back and he's off any fever reducing meds now. He's still on pain meds, so it's hard to know whether or not the pain in his back and neck is still as bad. We don't want him pain, but we want to know if it's improving too. The pain medication makes him much more mobile and allows him to slowly move his head left and right. But, he still won't look down at all. The doctors are starting to consider that the fever and neck/back pain could be coincidental and this could still be all skeletal/muscular related. That still doesn't explain why he would have those symptoms though. They've said a few different times that it's just not normal for kids his age. Hopefully, they can figure it out soon.

He's taking an afternoon nap right now and he's been pretty happy all day. Rachel's making me go home tonight because the couch-bed isn't big enough for the both of us. Apparently, they put us in a single parent room. We'll update again soon.

Correction

Early this morning I woke up to Mason's pediatrician standing over my cot saying good morning... I was totally confused and it was all a little weird seeing him at the hospital. I guess in my sleepy hazy state, I miss understood and thought he was starting Mason on antibiotics. Turns out they decided not to. Instead, they are running more test and taking shots in the dark at what this is. They just came in and took three vials of blood to test for Rocky Mountain Spotted fever, and Ehrlichiosis.

Mason is finally awake and has requested jello, banana, oatmeal, and an "eggy". He is thoroughly enjoying his Boz movies and currently is watching Nemo and is in GREAT spirits. We hope to get out of the room and go on a wagon ride if he continues to improve. Praise God for improvements!

Giving Thanks

Hey everyone, it's Rachel. First of all, I want to say how much your calls, texts, and Facebook messages mean to us. This by far, has been the most stressful and trying time in my entire life and your kind words kept us going when we were physically and emotionally drained. So thank you for everything. There is nothing new to report since Brooke's last post. We have finally gotten comfortable in room 7309 at VCH and have about 2 hours of sleep in us and that feels wonderful. I'm not being picky with my sleep at this point..I'll take what I can get. The antibiotics are running through Mason's IV and they are staying ahead of his pain with meds so he is resting comfortably. A team is working on his case trying to figure out what in the world is wrong with my child. They have been upfront and flat out told us they are just as stumped as we are. I guess I will go with the old adage that no news is good news. We continue to trust that God's hand is on the situation and he will heal Mason completely. We will update you if we hear anything else. Thanks again for your concerns, words, and most importantly your prayers.

Spinal Tap Clear!

Great news! Mason's spinal fluid was clear, he does not have meningitis. They are starting him on antibiotics to treat what they can't see.

MRI Results

I received a text from Eric at 6 o'clock this morning. The MRI showed no issues last night but they still didn't know the cause of Mason's symptoms. After much debate, the physicians decided to perform a spinal tap to rule out meningitis. From the start, his neck stiffness was a sign of meningitis but he had none of the other dramatic symptoms that typically are associated with it. Hopefully the spinal tap results will finally lay those concerns to rest.

Mason has been admitted to a room at VCH and Eric has asked me not to release the room number as of yet. They have turned off their phones and are trying to get some sleep right now. After what I can imagine was an awful, sleepless night, they have asked for privacy and rest for now. Your E-mails, texts, & Facebook messages mean a lot to them so keep them coming with words of encouragement. They just ask that you hold off on phone calls and visits for now.

Hopefully they will have some more answers soon. I will update this blog when I hear from them!

Thank you everyone for being prayer warriors.

Brooke

Settling in the ER for the night

There is a long wait for sedation at VCH tonight and Mason is somewhere down the line. Once he gets sedation, they will do the MRI but it will probably be a while. For now, the morphine has eased his pain and he is sleeping. Hopefully he won't wake up before his turn comes.

Rachel & Eric will most likely be in the hospital all night waiting their turn. They don't have beds to sleep on so pray for their strength! Luckily, they both had good naps this afternoon.

I'll post more if I hear anything.

Brooke

CT Scan Results are clear!

Good news! The CT scan showed no tumor in Mason's brain and no mass in his neck.

Unfortunately, they still don't know what is wrong with him and he is writhing in pain. They have ordered morphine for him now to relieve him. They have also ordered an MRI to see if there is a disc infection.

They are all exhausted. They've been at Vandy for 6 hours now and were at the pediatrician for at least an hour earlier today and Williamson Medical ER all afternoon yesterday.

Hopefully the MRI will come and go quickly.

Brooke

Another Update

EDIT! Eric said the Dr. didn't sound confident that they would have results in 45 minutes....not results ever....hang in there with me....it's hard to decipher "eric text" sometimes. :-) So, they should have results tonight....

Mason has had a long, long birthday today. It took forever for them to get blood because he was crying so bad. Eric said he kept screaming and saying "sorry mommy" while they tried to take his blood. I can't even imagine how that made Rachel feel, since it made me want to cry and I'm not his mommy. It's so heartbreaking. Then, they tried to get him some sedatives via IV but had problems getting the IV in. After all of that, he fell asleep on his own.

I guess they finally got him some sedatives because he's done with his CT scan now. Last I talked to Eric, they were waiting on results that should have taken 45 minutes. That was 30-45 minutes ago so hopefully we'll hear something soon. Eric said the Dr. didn't sound confident that they would find answers through the results.

Keep praying and sending them encouragement. I know it means so much to know that you love them. I don't think they are in need of anything at the moment except prayers. Lucy is taken care of and Rachel's parents are at the hospital with them so that they can get food and breaks.

I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything else.

Brooke

Update #2

Eric sent a quick text. He's amazed that they have seen 6 doctors at VCH in the same time they saw 1 at Williamson Medical.

All I know now is that Mason is on an IV and waiting to get a CAT scan. He has eaten too recently to do the CAT scan now so they are waiting a little bit for better results.

Mason really wants his milk :-(

Keep praying!!

Mason Update

Mason is checked into the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital ER. His fever upon arrival was 102.2. They haven't seen the doctor yet.

Their pediatrician told them this morning that he would let them know how the blood work came back but in the meantime, take him off Tylenol. He said that if Mason is taken off Tylenol and then develops a fever, that he needs to go to the ER at Vandy.

Please pray for Mason's immediate healing and peace for Eric & Rachel while they wait. I will add any updates as I get them.

Brooke

Back to the Doctor we go...

Mason was up in the middle of the night last night in a lot of pain so this morning I called his pediatrician for a follow up appointment and for some reassurance of a second opinion. This should be getting better not worse. They took some blood samples (note to self: Mason has microscopic veins and is freakishly strong.) It took three nurses, a daddy and two sticks in his arm to get the blood they needed. Happy Birthday, Mason. They also did a strep test which came back negative. Doc said to take him off of the pain meds so we can see if other symptoms (fever) surface. If he doesn't improve today our next step is Vanderbilt Children's for a catscan and more test. We are playing the waiting game right now (insert Mommy meltdowns here). Please keep us in your prayers.

Fourth of July Fail

This 4th was a bust as we spent it in the Williamson Medical Emergency Room but right now as I watch my sweet boy cuddling on the couch, I am so grateful he is healthy after the emotional roller coaster ride we endured today. There is nothing worse than watching your child cry and wince in pain and have no idea what is wrong with them. As a mother, I have never felt more frustrated and helpless.


A couple of days ago we noticed Mason was holding his head and neck kind of funny. We didn't think much about it because he was still playing normally and not really complaining. Yesterday, he was a little more irritable than normal but we attributed that to extended time on the boat without a good nap. About 3am last night/today he woke up screaming and holding the back of his neck. He was inconsolable to a point and then he was all of a sudden fine. He slept an hour or two in our bed but not before repeatedly kicking the crap out of me. Mason is the worst bedmate ever.. I am so glad I am not one of those parents let my child sleep in bed with me from the beginning. I can't imagine ever getting a good nights sleep with that little terror in my bed. So when we finally woke up this morning, he couldn't even transition himself from laying down to sitting up position and once I helped him sit up he couldn't move his neck in any direction and was screaming in pain. So many thoughts ran through my head but the only thing I could think about was packing my stuff (we were in Smithville) and getting the heck back home to take him to the doctor. We were packed and on the road by 8:15am. After finding out that our pediatricians office and the local walk in clinic were closed for the holiday we headed to the E.R. After waiting quite a while his conditioned worsened and I about had a nervous breakdown in the waiting room. It took everything I had in me to 1) not fall apart in tears along with Mason and 2) not bypass all these other people and demand to see a doctor immediately. When we were finally called back (sigh of relief) when the nurse realized his condition worsened and they said the doctor was on his way. I immediately asked him if he thought it was Meningitis- the word that caused my emotional meltdown. Thankfully his symptoms were similar but didn't exactly coincide with those of meningitis (second sigh of relief).


Mason was diagnosed with Torticollis, a tilting or turning of the head as a result of muscle spasms. The nurse described it as a charlie horse in his neck. They gave him some pain meds, took some X-rays and all that only took about 4 hours. He is doing better but still in pain so we are definitely having a low key 4th of July.


And here's some irony for you: It was exactly 2 years ago today, that I was in the very same E.R waiting room in labor with Mason. I can't believe he is going to be 2 years old tomorrow. We are so thankful and fortunate to have a healthy little boy. Please continue to pray for Mason and complete healing.




Happy 4th everyone. Hope yours is a little less eventful!