Our drama continues

I'm really hoping we have had our three now. First, it was Major busting his head and having to have staples. Second, was Ella Grace's accident involving her teeth and Major's footboard. Monday night was actually a week and two days that I was not in the emergency room. And then, I was in the emergency room.

I went to bed close to 10:45 that night. I know I layed in bed a while 'cause I usually do. Suddenly, I hear crying or panic or something coming from a kids' room. I hurried in there, thinking all along it was Ella Grace because she has been talking in her sleep some lately. Instead I found Major gasping for air, crying and in a panic. I grabbed him up and headed for my room trying to calm him and not wake Ella Grace. Their rooms are just so close, I was trying to be considerate and not have two kids up in the middle of the night. I tried to calm him, and finally recognized he was having an asthma attack (or so I thought). I start rummaging through the cabinets and closets trying to find his nebulizer (breathing machine), but to no avail. I called my mother (by this time it was 11:45 pm) and she wasn't 100% sure, but gave me a couple places to look. We hung up and I finally found it (suppose I need to put the Xopenex close to the nebulizer next time, huh?). While I was giving him a treatment I sent Jeremy a text to let him know what was going on. One treatment can take 15-20 minutes. As soon as it finished we called Daddy. Major was still in a panic and gasping for air. I found some instructions the allergy/asthma doctor gave - if it's not better in 10-15 minutes, give another treatment. If not better after that see a doctor immediately. On to treatment two.

It finally finished and I thought we had made some progress. I called mom and let her know it was better and, then Daddy. But, it started back again. Major just laid on my bed and I watched him. Knowing I needed to make a decision quick, I just didn't know which one to make! "See a doctor immediately" just kept resonating in my head. That and the fact that THIS. WAS. MY. CHILD! I first called the allergy/asthma doctor and he could hear Major breathing in the back ground and encouraged me to take him to be seen. I called our sweet, sweet, friend (and almost like a grandma) Mrs. Sandi. She hurried over to stay with Ella Grace and Major & I headed for the hospital.

That was the best ER experience I have had (where I actually had to stay). Or maybe I should say that was the best ER experience I have had with Major. We arrived at 1:23 am. They were so nice, and took us back immediately. Major was given a third breathing treatment, this was stronger than the Xopenex we have at home, but not something you can get over the counter. (Around this time - 1:30 am - Mom/Nana left a message and said she was on her way. Love Mom!!) Major then had some x-rays made, and then a steroid shot. They wanted to observe him for a while, more like a couple of hours, and make sure he didn't have any reactions or need anything else. Well, I was starting to doze off at this point. Major & I had to go to the bathroom, so we leave our little piece of heaven (ha!) and find the potty. On the way back a nurse gave him some crayons and paper and stickers. Well, that quickly put an end to my idea of taking a nap! Mom made it around 3:00. She played with Major, and I dozed off and on sitting in that comfy chair.
Around 4:30 we were finally discharged and made it home about 5:00 am. Whew! We all stayed at home the remainder of the day Tuesday. Mom stayed with Major (so sweet!) on Wednesday and Thursday. He feels much, much better and is ready to go back to school tomorrow. They said 3-5 days, and he should be ready for school Friday. So, he's right on track.
The finally diagnosis, by the way, was croup. I really thought croup was just a nasty cough. More like "oh, my baby's got a bad cough, he has the croup" sort of thing. Y'all this was scary, about the scariest moment I've had with one of my kids (ranks right up there with Ella Grace's recent accident), but still.
So, my week continues. Let's see what my next record will be without making it to the ER.
And, like my dad said, he couldn't get me on my cell phone so he was going to try the ER next.
I wonder when rent is due...

I guess I didn't make it clear!

In my last post, I asked for a break. Just a few days with nothing going on. I will be the very first to say I had a hard week last week. The end of the week didn't get much better.

My mom came into town Friday afternoon. Our neighborhood was having a yard sale and I wanted to participate. So, we started getting the kids ready for bed. I had tried lots of Ella Grace's winter clothes from 2009 on her to see if anything would still fit. Looks like we will be doing some shopping for that girl!

We read our Bible story, had brushed teeth and it was off to bed. Nana went out to get some things from her car and I was tucking Major in bed. Ella Grace was there, too, at the foot of the bed. I saw her climb up and I kissed Major and then THUD! She went to the floor. There was a brief moment of silence and then screams of pain and fear and panic. It wasn't a normal cry by any means. I rushed over and picked her up.She was holding her hand cupped under her mouth, mouth open. One look revealed missing teeth and blood. That was enough for me and I ran through the house with her in my arms to mom who was in the garage. I was panicking and couldn't get the door open fast enough. I knocked (or beat) on the door to get her attention, then finally managed to open the door. "HELP!" was all I could muster. Mom rushed over and got a glimpse, too. We took Ella Grace to the kitchen sink where we asked her to spit. It was awful. Mom asked me where her teeth were and I told her I didn't seem them. Mom had her, so I grabbed my phone and began calling our dentist while I made my way back to Major's room.

The answering service connected me to the dentist and he asked me to go to medcenter. That's a good 20 minutes from our house. He said I may also want to call the pediatric dentist in our town. SO, I grabbed Ella Grace a pair of shorts. Mom began putting her in the car with a towel and some ice for her mouth. I did think to grab some Tylenol and Mom gave that to her while I buckled up. And off we went.

I found the number to medcenter, and much to my luck, they were already closed for the night. (This was around 9:15.) I knew my mom would be calling my dad and sisters, as well as taking care of my little man who was quite unsure and upset of all that was happening around him. I called my good friend Laurie to look up the number to the pediatric dentist. Obviously, God wanted me to call her because Laurie said "Don't forget about Luke." I admit, I had to think for a minute. Who is Luke? OH, YES! LUKE! Luke is a friend we knew from our church who has his own dental practice. Laurie called Luke, Luke called me.He said he didn't mind meeting me at the hospital ER to take a look. Laurie, meanwhile, was on her way to come sit with me. I knew I was in for a long night at the ER. Ha! I'd already done it once that week, what was another night, right?

Dr. Luke met me at one of the big hospitals here and then so kindly offered to let me follow him to his office for an X-ray. Since Laurie hadn't made it just yet I called her and arranged to pick her up so she could ride with me. Bless little Ella Grace's heart, she just was so tired and kept asking to go home so she could go to bed. And I wanted nothing more than to be able to do that and re-do everything that had already happened.

The X-ray revealed some good news. Even though her three teeth were pushed pretty far into her gum 1) they were not split, broken, cracked or damaged and 2) they were not hurting the permanent teeth you could already see developing. Thank you, Jesus! However, there really was nothing that could be done at the moment. Dr. Luke said they could come back out on their own, when they were ready. It could take several weeks or several months. They could abscess, they could turn black and brown, they could come back partially, or just fine. They could be crooked or just need to be pulled. He sent the X-ray to the other dentist and we were going to call him first thing Monday morning. Dr. Luke called in an antibiotic. After dropping Laurie back off at her car, Ella Grace and I picked up her medicine.

We pretty much went to bed as soon as we got home. Ella Grace slept with me and was pretty peaceful all night. We did continue with our yard sale Saturday morning, though. We didn't get up early, just took our time. And I'm pretty glad we did. I thought we did well!

It was pretty cold. And what is a yard sale without repo-ing some of your old toys? See that toy in the back, they haven't played with it in like two years! Now it is their favorite and they fight over it!

This was Ella Grace Saturday morning. Can you tell how swollen she is through her nose and the left side of her face.

Warning on the next photo. It is kind of gross.

You can see where her teeth are missing here; the very front two and one to the left.

We went to church as usual Sunday morning. Ella Grace even said she wanted to go. Sunday night, the swelling had gone down tremendously.

This is before she went to bed Sunday night. You can still see the swelling under her nose.

Not smiling, you can tell her face looks a little different.

Here is another warning. The next pictures are kind of graphic.

Here you can see two of her teeth. The one on your right, her left, is actually rotated a little and angled.

Just another peek in her mouth.

This was Monday morning before we headed out to see the dentist.

The pediatric dentist was pretty confident that her teeth needed to be pulled. It was a quick visit to his office and a referral to an oral surgeon. That appointment was for 12:45 on Monday (October 4). We went immediately after the first appointment to drop off the X-ray and I wanted to get the paperwork over with. We actually saw a lady from church and that cheered Ella Grace up.

Choosing a treat at the pediatric dentist.

After wasting some time, we finally got to see the surgeon. After a little thinking he decided to wait to pull the teeth. Dr. F wanted to give them some time to see what they will do and if they will come back through. I was so, so excited. I didn't want to pull them and have to go through pain and discomfort with her mouth, especially when she says now that there is no pain.

So, that's how we ended last week.

Since my babies are okay, we are good. We have leaned on the Lord a lot the last couple of weeks. I am still praying her teeth back in!