So, so sick!

Right now, people all over the world are feeling the heart-wrenching pain of having loved ones in the hospital. Making it much worse is the fact that the people in the hospital are often alone, because visitors are being kept at bay to control the spread of coronavirus.

When our younger son (he’s 6) came down with a fever the other day, my heart instantly filled with fear and dread. I was terrified of having to take him to the hospital and leave him there alone to fight this nasty virus. Thankfully, I had no reason to worry; he got through the fever just fine, and we discovered that the fever might have been caused by new molars breaking through the gums, not coronavirus. I thank God for that.

Still, it reminded me of Gabe’s hospital stay years ago. He was just 3 1/2 years old, and we had just one instance of him being by himself (explained in the journaling, copied below), and it was a moment I will never forget as a mom.

Please pray for those who are in the hospital right now — kids, adults and the elderly — and for the loved ones who can’t be with them.

Here is the journaling:

These pictures break my heart, even as I am making this page three and a half years after they were taken. You were so, so sick, not able to keep anything in your belly. After spending hours in the bathroom and having a high fever, we finally got the OK from your pediatrician to take you to the hospital. You were instantly admitted to Hendricks Regional Health with a suspected case of rotavirus. Dr. Essig ran some tests, and although your official diagnosis was just a bad case of the flu, she was convinced it was rotavirus. (False negatives are apparently common with the test.) You were severely dehydrated and required IV treatment and heavy antibiotics. 

I remember a particularly pitiful moment, when I had gone down the hall to use the restroom (yours was off limits because it was being monitored by nurses), and I came back to find you out of bed, holding your IV pole, standing in your bathroom crying, saying you needed help and I wasn’t there. I just wanted to cry with you. It was absolutely horrible feeling like we could do nothing to help you feel better. And at three-and-a-half years old, you seemed so little and helpless in your hospital gown. 

After two days (including a spell of breaking out into hives), you were feeling better and were released for home. It was a long couple of days for you, and you were such a trooper! We were so glad to have you home!

Jan. 12-14, 2006