Greetings from Christiana. 🙂
It’s a cloudy, fall day. Somewhere between 58 and 59 degrees outside. Stephen, Tyler, and I are in the family room watching football. (Go Eagles!) 🏈 🦅 I love Sundays. I love autumn. And I love football season.
It has been a rough month for our family. Back on Monday, October 4th, what we thought was just going to be a fairly quick trip to the doctor’s because of Hailey having some abdominal and digestive issues and pain, ended up being an additional trip to the ER which then ended up as her being admitted to the hospital for about a week. I can’t put into words how physically and emotionally trying and draining it was for us all that week. Especially for Hailey. After a 6-hour wait in the ER waiting room (a lot of sick patients and not nearly enough nurses) we were then in the ER for two days while they ran various tests. Hailey was placed in the hallway, as were many other patients, because of all the rooms and beds being taken. I’ve really never seen or experienced anything like it, in the States.
Steve was floating between work and the hospital during the day, and between the hospital and home at night. I was able to spend the night with Hailey in her wonderful room/suite on the pediatric floor which miraculously opened up for her to have. (That is another amazing story all it’s own.) (But after the constant noise and not-so-good drama of two days in the ER, it was so refreshing for Hailey to finally be able to have a quiet, peaceful room of her own. On a quiet and peaceful floor!) But during the day I tried to take a few hours to drive home to check up on the other kids and to help them along with their studies/schoolwork.
In the end Hailey was diagnosed with having infectious colitis. To this day we still don’t know the cause. But after five days of antibiotics through the IV, she made a full recovery. It was a great morning when she was released and was able to go home. We’re use to doing so much as a family every day—being apart for a week is no fun. Fast forward to today and Hailey is still doing great! Thank the Lord!
But two days before she was released, Steve started to feel unwell. Then by the weekend he was downright sick. About five days after first feeling unwell, he decided to go for a COVID test. And—he tested positive for COVID. That immediately lead to two weeks of isolating and quarantining. I never saw him sleep so much. It was not a fun time. But thankfully, for as sick as he was during the first week anyway, he ended up with a relatively minor case compared to se many. And the other 7 of us stayed well! (How does that even happen with the Delta variant?!) (We had a hedge of protection from above!) However, a couple of days after the isolation/quarantine was over, I started to feel sick. And because of some of my symptoms, I was tested for COVID around Wednesday of this past week. We are still waiting for the results. I had some sore and swollen lymph nodes, a congested, icky throat, nasal congestion, a fever that has been between 99.0 and 100.3, some soreness, nasal congestion, etc. There are still other viruses and infections out there besides COVID. So perhaps I just got a touch of a different bug. Steve has been a great help by running for groceries and doing so many of the things that I normally tend to around the house. The kids, along with Steve, have been stepping up to make the most delicious meals. I’ve been blessed with the ability to rest. I’ve been resting for about a week now. Sore throat and painful glands are gone now. But I am still dealing with a fever on and off, a headache, etc. This too shall pass.
I guess I will conclude for now. What a mild fall we are having! (People are still walking around in shorts! As the Christmas trees go up at Walmart and Costco! Here in Pennsylvania!) It makes it miserable for the dogs. The flees aren’t going anywhere fast. And seem to be using the extended warmer weather to multiply like crazy! Normally they would be a dead and gone, non-issue by the end of October!
Life is good. God is good. We stay grateful. 🙏🏻
The Noble Home Chronicles 