The next day, we had Christmas with Jeremy's parents. We had a very nice, relaxing day. Cora enjoyed opening her gifts; Micah enjoyed the wrapping paper and bows. :)
Jeremy started feeling bad later that evening. We headed home early enough so that Cora Leigh and I would have time to make sugar cookies for her Sunday school teachers and for Santa Claus too! Jeremy wasn't feeling good, but he thought it might be something he ate not agreeing with him. He pushed through it and took care of Micah while Cora and I baked and decorated. We had a wonderful time! She really loved rolling out the cookie dough and using the cookie cutters. I hate I don't have any pictures, but when you're trying to keep a 3-year old from making a major mess, the camera is that last thing you're thinking about! We were able to get enough cookies baked and decorated to have some ready for church the next morning.
By the kids' bedtime, Jeremy had gone from not feeling good to sick. I won't go into too much detail because it's gross. I'll just say it was bad. I volunteered to sleep on the couch to stay away from the germs, and then Jeremy would have easy access to the bathroom. I don't think either of us slept because he kept getting sick, and while we were separated by some distance, I was very much aware of what was happening. Around 1 or 2 am, Jeremy decided that he probably needed to go to the ER because he was so dehydrated. It's at times like that when I am SO thankful that we live close to family. I called Jeremy's parents and told them what was going on. They got out of bed, dressed, and drove to our house so they could take Jeremy to the hospital. It seems they got back to the house between 4 and 5. They had given Jeremy fluids and anti-nausea meds in the ER and sent him home with a collection of prescriptions. The next day, we did not make it to church. The cookies went in the freezer, and then began the disinfecting. I had Jeremy stay in our bedroom pretty much the entire day. I was lysoling like crazy, washing my hands, doing everything I could to protect myself and the kids from this nasty virus. I was also very sleep deprived from the night before, trying to take care of everyone. It was a rough day. Thankfully, Jeremy's nausea was much better....until it wasn't. He woke up that afternoon and was not able to make it to the bathroom before he vomited. As if that weren't nasty enough, it was black. Now, I'm no medical expert, but I have sense enough to know that it is not normal for your vomit to be black. I asked Jeremy to check his meds and make sure that couldn't be a side effect. Nope. So I did what anyone else who wants to get to the truth of the matter would do - I went to the internet. :) I was able to get some good information and found out that it is definitely not normal to have black vomit, and that it indicates bleeding. Not good. SO, I called Jeremy's parents again. I know they were exhausted too, but they came back to get Jeremy and take him back to the ER. Jeremy had asked me at this point to take the kids to my parents' house to try and get away from the germs. We loaded up, on the eve of Christmas Eve, and made the trip to Jasper. It was really nice to be able to have someone to help take care of the kids so I could get some rest. I knew Jeremy was in good hands. Sometime after I had gone to bed...which was early...Jeremy's mom called and told me that they were admitting him. I was not surprised. He was actually sent to the ICU, was given more fluids, potassium, and they put in an NG tube to check for the bleeding (tube up the nose, down the throat, into the stomach). The tube was making Jeremy gag and vomit again. Apparently it's about the worst thing he's ever experienced. When they were able to take out the tube, Jeremy did much better. Then began the waiting game for a endoscopy... In the meantime, the kids were enjoying time at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Cora Leigh and I went with Grandma to a nearby nursing home where Mom plays piano every month. Cora LOVED hearing the Christmas music - she was singing along at the top of her lungs and even danced for the residents! Everyone seemed to get a little extra cheer from watching and listening to her. It was really fun and special. In the meantime, it was not looking very promising that we were going to get to spend Christmas morning together as a family. We were heading to the hospital to visit Jeremy, and I got a call from his dad out of the blue saying that he was going to be discharged!! The endoscopy showed that Jeremy had an ulcer and the beginnings of another ulcer that may have been the source of some of the blood. He also had a lot of irritation. The GI doc said that he didn't see a tear in his esophagus, but based on Jeremy's blood count, he was pretty certain that is what had happened. Bottom line, he didn't see anything so severe to keep Jeremy away from his family for Christmas. :)
Jeremy's parents had stayed at our house between visiting hours on Christmas Eve. I am so thankful that his mom had already cleaned and disinfected the house. I still went in behind her with the lysol wipes on all the door handles, light switches, water faucets, toilet flushers, and remote controls. Better safe than sorry! But we were in much better shape than we could have been. Jeremy got home and we settled in and got ready for Christmas! Cora Leigh did leave some sugar cookies out - one for Santa and one for Mrs. Claus. :)
And Santa Claus came!!!
It looks like I'm going to have to post a Christmas Part 3. :)
