Quarantined

This has been an 'exciting' week to say the very least! While David was away in Pennsylvania on the pastor's retreat ( he got home last night- hooray!), our family was officially quarantined by our pediatrician. Our little man was diagnosed with a case of RSV.
David left on the retreat after church on Sunday, and in prepration of this week without daddy, I had made lots of plans for playdates, trips to the park, etc to help us pass the time without too many tears. (Poor Wubs- she absolutely melted when she had to hug David good-bye for four whole days!) On Monday morning I debated taking JJ to the pediatrician because he had been running a fever of 102 through the night and he was pulling at his ears. But, I decided to give little man some Advil and try to wait it out for one more day. I have learned over the years that if you take a child with a possible ear infection to the doctor even just a day too early, you spend $25 to find out that you need to come back in a day or two for an additonal $25 recheck before those sweet little ears are infected enough to be worthy of an antibiotic. I was trying to be a good steward of our finances and JJ seemed okay with pain reliever medicine. Plus, I slept on our couch with JJ so I could hold him in an upright position to help with the congestion. So he was happy with that! By Tuesday morning, I was debating the pediatrician for a second time. The fever was down to 100 and perhaps this meant he was improving? However, by about 3pm that day, the Holy Spirit burdened my heart so strongly that I knew I needed to call for an appointment. I could hear this strange wheezing sound when JJ was breathing, and even when he would cough, it wouldn't seem to clear his throat. We got the last appointment of the day on Tuesday.
Things at the pediatrician's office began happening really fast as nurses zipped in and out of our room to check and recheck JJ's oxygen levels. I had suspected the ear infection (which turned out to be a double ear infection, yikes!) but I had never considered RSV. I was sent home with instructions to administer a breathing treatment every four hours around the clock and I needed to come back to have JJ re-examined on Thursday. His oxygen levels needed to reach a 97-they were at a 93- or we were going to need to discuss further action. (Some babies are actually hospitalized for RSV so I kept telling myself the truth- the Lord is in control. God loves JJ more than we do. God's ways are not my ways. He is sovereign. And then, after I would tell myself the truth, I would repeat it. wink.)
In the midst of all of this, God's hand was so apparent. Even though David was six hours away, he was praying with the entire team of pastors from our church for our son. We had friends and family who were calling regularly to check on us, prayer warriors who were praying without ceasing, meals provided, a nebulizer machine provided, movies for the girls to enjoy delivered, and my friend, Meghan, even came over twice to check JJ's oxygen levels for me. (Thank you Meghan for being so brave to come, even though this disease is extremely contagious. Thank you for sharing your pulse oximeter, kindness, and your wisdom!)
Yesterday, we returned to the pediatrician and we were given the best possible outcome! JJ's oxygen levels were only at a 96 but since his wheezing had improved considerably and he was clearly responding well to the breathing treatments, we can continue healing at home. Because RSV is so contagious, everyone in our family is now considered a 'carrier'. We are quarantined until the end of next week. Below are a few pictures of JJ during a breathing treatment. He does not like for me to put the strap for the mask around his head, but he will allow me to hold it up to his face. He has been a trooper!
"May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word."- 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17