Same Song, 3rd Verse

Less than 24 hrs. after discharge I was on the way to the ER with Judah again. He woke up from his nap with a high fever. The rule with a central line is that a temp. over 100.4 constitutes a call to Home Health and a trip to the ER. So, here we are again. 4th floor. 3rd time in 5 weeks. They don't know exactly what's going on. Could be related to the infection he already has. Could be a new bug/new infection. Could be infection from the line. They've done urine and blood and are now waiting on cultures. Which means we'll be here for a couple days at least. Hopefully everything will come back OK and we can go home in the clear. His urine looks suspicious already, so I'm not sure... Thankfully Tylenol helped with the fever and he's sleeping peacefully right now. Also, extremely thankful for the line right now, which saves him from most lab draws in the arms/fingers, and an IV. If there's infection in the line it has to be pulled. And infection in the blood is very serious. I'm just not really thinking about that right now.

Actually, I don't really know what to think right now. I ache for Jared and my kids. Not even 24 hrs! I wish I had spent individual time with each of them today. Today would have looked different if I had known... I miss Jared; but what's hard is knowing how much he misses me, too. The man is an incredible husband and father - EXTRAORDINARY - but parenting alone while dealing with the stress of a sick child and an absent wife is draining. We're a team, and when we're apart we really feel it. I so wish I could be there. I'm doing OK with everything else. I think partly because Judah is doing OK. The fever is his only symptom right now. I think I might be in shock or denial. This is just weird. I'm sure the tears will come.

Two things that offer comfort, encouragement, and support: 2 girlfriends are providing meals Sunday & Monday night; and my best friend is having a hard time with this. I know that sounds weird, or even mean; but I would rather her hurt for and with us, than try to make it better. I told her that means she's invested, and genuinely loves Judah and the rest of us. That means a lot to me.

We're doing OK. We really are, but we do need you to pray.
*The doctors need wisdom and insight.
*We need to know what's causing the fever and how to treat it.
*Judah needs to be well enough to have surgery on the 12th.
*Jared (especially) and I need patience and compassion and extra doses of grace in dealing with our older kids right now.
*We also need to figure out creative ways to spend some quality time together.

Thanks for praying...again.