The Quiet

Daddy and Lockelan crashed out
after our Sunday ER visit.

Yes, I've been unexpectedly silent for a few weeks.  If you saw my posts on our FaceBook page then you know we've been dealing with illness.  Oh, if only that was the whole story.

Our first full family illness worked it's ways slowly among each of us.  It started with my husband before affecting the kids and myself.  It hit each of hard for two days or so.  In some ways, I can't complain because it was offset enough that each of us were able to get adequate rest during the worst of it.  It also meant that  it seemed to drag on for an eternity.  Everyone healed quickly, except for me.  It's been well over two weeks and I'm still struggling with a minor cough that affects my sleep.

I have done my best to focus on the positive.  I truly believe that each and every step we take is known to our Lord and Creator.  There is always a greater plan, even if I am ignorant of its existence.  Through the healing, we spent a great deal of time enjoying each other as a family.  We played games together and had extended cuddle sessions.  Generally we are not able to enjoy so much of Daddy's time since he works two jobs.  I am truly grateful for those beautiful moments that will live in my memories forever.

At the same time, I have struggled with feeling under the weather for so long.  I have barely been able to prepare food or provide for the basic needs of my family.  Extra tasks such as school or blogging had to fall by the wayside.  Unfortunately maintenance items such a cleaning, dishes and laundry were neglected as well.  Dishes have been particularly difficult since we lost our dishwasher shortly before illness hit.  I'm thankful that Matt was no longer contagious once our new one finally arrived so we didn't have to reschedule delivery.

We attempted to arrange a productive weekend.  My family was willing to watch the children so I could get the house in order and reset for school.  And then on Friday, a dreaded moment occurred.  Lockelan, our child with severe hemophilia, suffered a serious bleed.  While I was thankful that we already had arrangements for our older two, the rest of the weekend was spent in the ER getting tests and factor replacement for the little guy.

I'm happy to report that he is doing substantially better.  He has had three infusions so far and is now able to walk with a slight limp.  The official diagnosis is a deep muscle bleed in his right, upper thigh.  Since we are not aware of a trauma, it could be a spontaneous bleed, which is not uncommon for his severe status.

The biggest surprise is that we have switched his treatment style from "on demand" to routine prophylaxis.  We always knew we would end up on that treatment regiment but we didn't expect to happen so suddenly.  We also thought he would get a port for easy vein access.  Instead, I have already began training to "hit a vein" on him.  Um, wow.  What I thought was a follow up appointment turned into a drive home with a massive bag of supplies and factor.

Lockelan now needs to be treated twice a week on Monday and Thursday.  I will have to drive him to our HTC, which is well over an hour on he road, to continue training until I am comfortable enough to complete treatment at home.  It's strange to think I have to learn to jab a needle in his head, although I suppose I should be grateful that he has such wonderful head veins.  If you want to know more about our prophy journey, you can see his blog here.

So while I generally try to avoid delving into our medical issues here, I wanted to explain my absence.  While I hope things will return to normal soon, I know learning to infuse the little guy is going to be interesting.  We also have a long way to go in recovering the house and reestablishing our schedule.  All the while, I'm praying for a renewed attitude.

The little guy is relaxing at home after a long visit to the ER on Saturday.