You Give Me Fever

David hasn’t been sleeping too well, lately, and today the reason became somewhat apparent: he was pretty sick. We figured it was just a cold, but then this evening things took a turn for the worse: his temperature spiked to 104.6˚F. It’s funny how familiarity breeds complacency that way: even a mere six months ago, we were completely freaked out by something like that. Today, Mommy just got on the phone to Mawmaw while Daddy scooped David up and stuck him in a lukewarm bath, to bring his fever down (which it did).

While David was in the tub, Daddy prayed to know what to do. He feels that, several times in our family’s past, we’ve given up faith too soon and run to Urgent Care when a Priesthood blessing would have been sufficient. As such, when Mommy came up the stairs declaring that we were going, Daddy asked her to please get the kids dressed while he figured out what we needed to do.

To be frank, Daddy was quite surprised. The voice of the Spirit—inaudible but no less understandable—came very clearly: “It’s pneumonia. Get him to the doctor, then give him a blessing.” Well, Daddy has finally learned not to put a question mark where the Lord puts a period, so after leaving a message for our home teacher Jacob, we headed over to Urgent Care to get him taken care of.

The doctor took a listen to his chest and noted that it—and his audible breathing—were each a little “crackly,” as he put it. Bolstered by a recent article in the Ensign (which he does not think he picked out of an entire magazine, by accident), he asked the doctor, “Could it be pneumonia?” The doctor agreed that it very well could be, but decided not to give David a shot nor order any X-rays, since his oxygen level was relatively high. He simply wrote out a prescription that would take out anything up to and including pneumonia, then sent us on our way.

Once all that was done and Daddy was finally home with the prescription, Jacob and Daddy gave David his second unrelated blessing of healing in as many weeks. He received many specific promises in today’s blessing, but Daddy’s favorite was the prophecy that David would be well by the time his prescription runs out (this Sunday).

Anyway, David is now sleeping peacefully in his Pack ’n’ Play (in the guest room) while ever-vigilant Mommy spends the night on the guest-room bed. Sleep tight, guys! We’ll see you in the morning!

Hospitality

This morning, Daddy was at work when Mommy came into the office, distraught. Turns out David had somehow managed to remove the lid from one of Mommy’s diabetes medications and was playing with the pills. Mommy and Daddy still don’t know with 100% surety that he didn’t take any of them, but we certainly couldn’t afford to take that chance. A quick call to Poison Control confirmed our fears: little David was on his way to the emergency room. ☹

Now, those of you that know David personally know how incredibly inquisitive he is, and the E.R. was no exception. They pricked his toe to draw some blood; he didn’t even flinch, instead concentrating on the pricker and glucose monitor. They stuck those little sticky monitors all over his chest; he stared at them, but it was quite a while before his sole attempt to remove them. They placed an IV in his arm; he stared at the nurses the whole time, giving them exactly the look that Gary Coleman made so famous. (Every test they ran came back fine, by the way, but goodness knows diabetes meds don’t necessary have an immediate effect.)

By this time, the kids’ Mawmaw—who had left work for a family emergency—had taken off to get him a pacifier (we couldn’t find one, before leaving). Thus, when our home teacher Jacob and Daddy’s new boss, Reid, showed up at the hospital to help Daddy give David a blessing, Reid wound up watching Leah while Jacob and Daddy, respectively, anointed and blessed him. The blessing prophesied that he would be okay, and Daddy personally felt that he hadn’t ingested anything (though he wasn’t prompted to say as much; he figures that was for his and Mommy’s sake, so they wouldn’t have to decide whether or not to check David out of the hospital—nor have to worry if they’d made the right decision, if they had. Dang lack of faith). Daddy then headed out to grab us some lunch, leaving Leah and Mawmaw (who had just returned) to join Mommy and David in the hospital room they were about to be wheeled up to.

Well, to make a long story short, David’s hospital room is nice and comfy: there’s a chair and a sofa for visitors and for Mommy to sleep on, tonight; plenty of toys for him to play with (probably 80% of which he also has at home); very complete meals (especially considering he’s only 18 months old); and a playroom down the hall, where Leah is welcome to join him when she visits. He’ll be there all night, for observation—Mommy’s staying with him, Daddy is staying at home with Leah—but should be happily returned to his daily routine, late tomorrow morning. Phew!

(Oh, and by the way…. Don’t you just love him in that little hospital gown?) ☺

(more pics)