And so the adventure begins...

Well, August was a very eventful month at the Hester house. On Wednesday August 6th our sweet little man got really sick and had to spend the night at the hospital. He was poked and pricked and hooked up to IVs, but in the end all was well and we were all sent home the next day in perfect health. However 6 days later, Eli got sick again and Jordan and I rushed him to the Emergency room at Vanderbilt Children's hospital. He had to go through all the same tests that he endured the Wednesday prior including his second spinal tap in 6 days. It was quite scary and very sad to watch him go through all of this. We found out that his white count was almost twice as high as it was last time he was there, which was really high. But in the end Eli perked up and continued to perplex the doctors as all of his tests came back negative. All the doctors were wonderful and tried their best to answer all of our questions. We spent 3 nights at the hospital and Eli continued to act well despite having an IV in both his foot and hand. He also impressed the nurses with how well he handled having his temperature taken (not under his arm if you know what I mean) every 4 hours. He would hardly even flinch, as if saying, "oh that thing again, no big deal, I mean after 10 or so of those you kinda get used to it mom."

Eventually, because Eli continued to look so good and act like himself, they gave us the "OK" that we could go home. We were so glad that he was well but still a little unsatisfied that we did not really know what caused these 2 episodes, other than a virus or maybe a food allergy of some sort. The next few days at home were filled with a cranky, what in the world is going on, child and two confused and extremely tired parents. It was hard to not sit and try and disect everything that he was doing to give us some clue as to what had happened. That of course drove us crazy. I was able to call my cousin who is a doctor and she shed a lot of light on what could have been going on. So, we are in the midst of exploring his food allergy and trying to get his tummy back on track, which means that I am on a hypoallergenic diet of meat, rice, and green vegetables. Fun Times!! No more Three Musketeers for me. hehe.

It has been quite the introduction to parenthood. I am hoping we have met our hospital visit quota for a while. Thank you to all those who got word and prayed for Eli and our family as we waited for test results. We really appreciate it and are so very blessed by all the love and support. Well, onward in the new adventures that await us as we still begin to wrap our heads around this new world called "being a parent". Much Love to all.

Ryan

...and of course one more look at our little fella.