Another 5 hours in the hospital, and....

IT'S GOOD NEWS.
Probably.

Ok, so I'm not going to go into all the details, because as most of you know, MY HUSBAND COMES HOME TOMORROW MORNING! So I'm busy rushing around trying to get the house clean and make welcome home signs and all that. But I wanted to let you guys know that we got good news (or what appears to be good news) at the doctor.

Today went really well. I have been thanking the Lord ALL DAY because I was totally blessed. Somehow I convinced CYS (Child & Youth Services) to accept my son even though he wasn't registered with them, after a lot of running around and paperwork this morning. Asher spent the day in the daycare instead of the hospital, which was a HUGE blessing. I'm so glad that worked out! He had a blast and they said he was really good today. (And it only cost me $20.)

That left me available to be totally there for Josh, which was SO-----O great. It was so much easier today because I was able to be with him one-on-one, and we were armed with Teddy and tons of treats. The doctor was finally able to get the blood he needed, after lots of poking and screaming and crying (which I really don't want to re-live). Josh was SO STRONG!!! I'm so proud of him, I can't even tell you... I have a totally new respect for that child. He cried and screamed, but he was so courageous because once he realized it was going to happen whether he cried or not, he just stopped crying and was very patient until it was all done. They took 4 viles of blood and sent them to the lab, then 3 hours later when we actually got to speak with the doctor again, he said it was Rheumatic Fever.

I don't know anything about what that is, but he kept talking about positive test results and the heart murmur thing, blah blah blah. After a while, another doctor was called in for a consult and he took over the case. The second doctor basically said that the first doctor is a quack and no one really trusts his opinions because he tends to make something out of nothing. The second doctor explained to me that this is a common problem among children about a week or two weeks after they have had a viral infection. Suddenly they can't walk on one of their legs, and they usually point to the knee area, but it's actually the hip that has a problem. Then about 24 hours later, it disappears and they are fine.

When Josh woke up this morning, he could walk, run, play... everything a normal kid can do. The second doctor said all his test results looked fine for a child his age, and he made an appointment for us to follow up next week. Honestly, I totally trust this second doctor's opinion. He really seems to know what he's doing and it sounds to me like he's got it right. I'm no doctor, but it really makes more sense than all the other stuff that first doctor was talking about.

Anyway, the plan now is to just wait. He appears to be perfectly normal again and says his leg doesn't hurt. He was so brave, and now we know a LOT about his blood (which is good, I guess)... they did glucose tests and all sorts of other blood counts and stuff. While the first doctor still could be right, I'm not going to get panicked about it. Josh is an open book, so if he has any more symptoms, I'll know about it and we'll go back to the doctor. But for now, he's just excited to go back to school on Monday.

AND go get Daddy from the airport!!! We're all extremely anxious to have him home, and super excited about Asher's birthday tomorrow. SOOOOOOO.... Hopefully the only thing I'll need to report this weekend (after this) will be pictures of my baby's 3rd birthday!!! :)