It’s 10:30 pm and I just wanted to post a quick Gideon update.
This afternoon Kevin had an idea. He asked the nurse if they could move Gideon’s IV from his hand to his foot. Although we hated for him to get another stick, it’s proved (so far) to be totally worth it!! Gideon doesn’t seem near as agitated this evening. He tolerated sitting in his chair much better. Plus now he can use both hands to stick his vibrating tooth brush in both ears. I know it sounds silly, but that’s a big deal for our boy. Not to mention, he can play with his toys better! Especially the vibrating ball that bounces vigorously. It’s definitely a two-hander.
Also, he finished up a 4 oz packet of food and he took 3 oz of pediasure! That puts his total fluid intake (by mouth) at 12 oz for today; which not enough to remove the IV, but we are closer now than we were this morning.
I’m so glad they moved the IV. Not only does Gideon like to switch hands when taking his bottle, but he puts both fists in his eyes when he lays on his tummy.
Thanks for your cotinued prayers. I believe with all my heart they do make a difference!! Now we are praying that he sleeps well tonight…all night. 😉
On Monday, I posted to my Facebook page that Gideon was sick.
In that post, I mentioned that he had only been admitted to the hospital once in all his 5 years of life. That’s a miracle for a kid with PBD!!
*Jinx*
And here we are- Gideon’s second hospital admittance.
We brought Gideon to the ER Tuesday afternoon because he was still lethargic and refusing to eat or drink. (Gideon does not have a G-Tube.) The ER doctors told us his sugar level was extremely low; so they hooked him up to an IV, did blood work and a chest x-ray. The metabolic doctor and endocrinologist also had labs done and thankfully, everything came back great. The only thing they said was that he was probably fighting some kind of viral respiratory infection or bronchiolitis.
Unfortunately, because he was still refusing to eat or drink, they decided to admit him later that evening. Mimi and Papa brought our overnight things, as well as little brother and big sister! They were excited to see Gideon. <3
The night was rough. Kevin and I took turns sleeping and holding Gideon because he did not want to be put down.
So we met with the doctors this morning and they are going to keep him at least one more day. He has to drink at least 32 oz of liquids, in 24 hours, before they will remove the IV. That being said, we could be here longer than just one more day. His cough is pretty yucky and he has zero desire to eat or drink right now.
I’ll keep some updates going via FB, IG, and Twitter. We appreciate your prayers for a quick recovery. Gideon’s second hospital admittance has been exhausting but the staff here at Children’s Dallas have been AMAZING! We are thankful for such compassionate care.
Also, I will no longer be boasting about how few times Gideon has been admitted to the hospital. 😉
Over the past few years, I’ve had the privilege of telling our story on different platforms, but one of my favorites takes place annually on a local college campus. On Friday I had the pleasure of talking to a group of students at Eastfield College. The class consists of high school seniors who are working on dual credits. The teacher invites me to speak to her class because her students might someday want to work with children like Gideon. So, I get to speak to them about what life looks like for families like ours; the good, the bad, and the ugly.
A handful of students from the EFC class
It’s a pretty cool experience. I’m thankful Mrs. Watlington asks me to do this, because I love raising awareness for Gideon’s condition. Plus, I also love that I can bring all my kids with me so the students can meet them. But more than that, I love the deeper message that I get to tell. Weaved throughout our story is always the message that God doesn’t waste any of the trials we face. Romans 8:28 reminds us that all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord and have been called according to his purpose.
I believe if we choose to see the good then we can use even the most difficult circumstances for good. Nothing in this life has to be wasted, not even a degenerative disability. But not everyone sees things the way we do.
Recently I was going through our filtered YouTube comments, something I don’t do often. This is because most of those comments use offensive language that I’ve blocked. So here are two of 160 comments that were “held for review” …
“Why the **** would you keep this baby and not abort/euthanize him? His life is going to be horrible, he basically doesn’t even know that he’s alive.”
“If the baby is deaf and blind, why didn’t you just abort it or kill it in a humane way after it was born? Why allow a child that can never be independent live and drain resources?”
But for every one of those comments, we see 500 positive, loving responses. And occasionally, we get some pretty cool ones like these…
“I have depression and I have tried to suicide a lot, but after seeing this video I think after all there’s hope and happiness in this world… thank you for being such a good parent, Allah bless you and your precious kid.”
“You’ve made me cry in the best way. Never have I believed in God but if he is real he made you man. I’m a father too and we all struggle but you are a true blessing to your son. Every parent should see your vids/story it’d make me them better people, Godspeed.”
The message I wanted to get across to the class at Eastfield College is this- the way we view our circumstances changes everything. For our family, our perspective is that there is hope even in the most challenging of circumstances. That is why it is important for us to share our story; because we never know who needs to hear of the hope that we have.
And as we choose joy in spite of our circumstances, we write a new chapter that leads us on a new path. New paths mean new journeys.
And with new journeys, you never know where your story will take you.
