Sunday, December 04, 2011

God Knows

Have you ever had one of those days where it seemed like NOTHING could go right? I sure had one of those days yesterday. If you read my post about Kodah then you know that he had broken his collar bone during delivery. I also had a minor mishap while in the hospital because of my epideral. It had been a long time since I had an epideral being that I delivered Shiloh and Trevor completely naturally, and the two pior times I had an epideral went perfectly fine. Well not this time. Shortly after they administered the epideral I became itchy all over. And I mean want to crawl out of your skin itchy. I told my nurse and she said it was normal and that many women experience that. The next day after delivery I was still itchy all over my back and it was driving me bonkers! I finally looked in the mirror and was horrified by what I saw. There was a perfect outline of welts where ever they put tape on my back. They were bright red, swollen and SO itchy. I was having an allergic reaction to the adhesive in the tape. By the next day the rash had spread and now my back was about 80% covered in hives and it was wrapping around my stomach. I am still covered in hives today and just waiting for this thing to run its course. No more band aids or materials containing adhesive for me. I get to use something called paper tape. Awesome! Now for the day of discharge at the hospital. I am sitting in a chair covered in hives holding my newborn with a broken clavicle and the pediatrician comes in to tell me that Kodah's biliruben levels are high and they want me to have him rechecked the next day. You have got to be kidding me? Ugh. So the next day we have more blood work done and a few hours later I got a call from the doctor. Kodah's levels had raised even higher and he was going to need a special light treatment. I had to do my best to fight back tears while the doctor explained to me that Kodah would have to be wrapped in a special light blanket that was plugged into the wall 24/7 until his levels were normal again. I was feeling so overwhelmed. It is hard enough nursing a baby with a broken bone, but to add this "blanket" which actually is more like a plastic pad covered with thin cloth that has to be wedged into his onsie and plugged into the wall at all times...double UGH! I was feeling so discouraged and was doing all I could to fight back tears. Then wouldn't you know it, my friend Lois calls and wants to know how things are going and if I needed any help. I told her what was going on and how stressed I was and she reassured me that everything was going to be fine. That night her and her husband dropped their kids off at his parents and brought dinner over to us, which in itself is nice enough. Then they set the table, served us, cleaned up the mess, washed my dishes and cleaned
my kitchen. After that she was asking to do my laundry and get my kids ready for bed. She even gave me a pedicure while she was over. I could just cry thinking about it now. God knew exactly how I was feeling and he sent a selfless friend over to lift me up and encourage me. I am blessed beyond measure and surrounded by friends that love me and care for me. I thank God for them. Today is a better day. As I was holding my little guy hooked up to a light with my hives and his broken bone he gave me his first big smile, and I thought if he can smile through this I can too.

8 comments:

Kelly Glupker said...

Can Lois be my friend too? What a wonderful friend she is! I want to be a friend like that!
I hope things continue to get better. I can't wait to meet "little" Kodah. :)

Ashley W said...

Ok, first let me pause at YOU DELIVERED TREVOR NATURALLY?!?! Ok, now that I'm over my shock isn't it amazing how God knows and meets our needs in a way that only He can? I am constantly amazed and grateful at how wonderful He is to me despite my wretchedness!

Anonymous said...

Congrats Jess & Shawn!! We'll have to pick a night when things clam down to come over and see the big guy. Hope you and him feel better soon! Tonya

Our Family said...

Kelly - If you REALLY want to be a friend like that I'll bring the polish to the Miller Christmas party.

Ashley - I had to laugh at your comment! Yes, Trevor was an all natural birth. It really wasn't that bad!

Tonya - Sounds good. See you soon:)

Hannah said...

Lois is such an angel...and Sonny isn't bad either! Congrats on your new little man! So sorry you're going through so much right now. Hugs and prayers for you! Kiss Kodah for me. :-)

Anonymous said...

Lois is an amazing person. It doesn't surprise me one bit that she did that. You are truly blessed to have a friend like that. God bless you and your new little one. You have such a beautiful family. Keep your chin up and your eyes on God. He'll get you through this!

Lois Snyder said...

Love you Jess! What she didn't tell you was that she did the same for my family when I had Carson! She brought us food and even some miscellaneous groceries! She's the best.. just returning the favor. It's great to be able to listen to God's bidding and help a friend.

Sue said...

Jess...I'm sorry to hear of your rough time. I will be praying that those hives go away very soon!! Congratulations on the birth of you new little (well, not so little) guy:) What a blessing he will be, like your others!!! I also went through a couple of babies with super high biliruben count..had to be under the light at home etc. Yes it was very overwhelming for me, too. Hopefully you will only have to deal with that for a few days. Hang in there! Lois is a sweetheart and God used her to minister to you. Blessed to have her for your friend :) Keep us posted (if you have time) in how things are progressing! Prayerfullyl, Sue Hudson