last week: stones, sullivans, stroller barre

Last week …. oooof. It was one of those weeks where I wish I had those Men In Black memory eraser pens.

2 Saturday nights ago, David and I were watching Tyler and Emily play soccer in their indoor co-ed league. Side note – It is so much fun to watch these games – not only do we get to see the kiddos playing their favorite sport together, but indoor soccer is another level of intensity and strategy that you don’t get with outdoor field soccer. Anyway – as we are watching Tyler crush it and Emily play against boys that are 3x her size, David had a huge sharp pain in his left lower back. If any of you know David, you know that he can handle and stomach more pain than most and has the endurance to push through challenging scenarios, only to come through the other side seemingly unscathed. To watch him curl over in pain was a new experience for me, and I knew this was SERIOUS.

We went home early from their game and David made it through several hours of agonizing pain before he fell asleep. The pain went away – but unfortunately that was only temporary.

On Monday and Tuesday

my mom (Grandma K) came for 48 hours to visit us on her way to St. Louis for a board meeting. It was great having the extra help with the baby during the day but I most enjoyed showing my mom what our “regular life” looks like. Grandma K participated in a FIT4MOM Stroller Barre class at our new location in Mundelein, attended LMNOP at Gigi’s Playhouse, helped during Hudson’s physical therapy session, cheered Tyler on at his volleyball game, and we shared some tasty dinners (including Sullivan’s Steakhouse where Hudson enjoyed chewing on a huge ribeye bone).

David had to travel last week; when he got back, he was still in pain. Listening to his body, David stopped by the doctor’s office for walk-in hours and they immediately ordered a CT scan (where they identified he had several kidney stones). I’ve never had kidney stones myself – but here’s how the pain has been described – SIMILAR TO CHILDBIRTH people. At least the pain I was feeling as my body prepared for Hudson to enter the world had a positive outcome – a baby! David’s pain was going to result in…stones?? David made an appointment with his urologist but couldn’t go in for 9 days due to his travel schedule.

Then –

the flu hit our house. The kiddos’ mother tested positive for Influenza B, which meant we all quickly called the doctor for prescriptions of Tamiflu!! The house was scrubbed top to bottom, and we ran out of hand soap and bottled water because we were washing so frequently and downing water like we had just finished a marathon!

Thursday morning, Hudson, my fellow FIT4MOM mamas and I headed to Arboria of Long Grove, an assisted living and memory care facility nearby. We conducted class with some of the residents who live there. For those who aren’t familiar with FIT4MOM, it is a company that focuses on exercise and support to moms at any point in her motherhood journey. I teach Stroller Strides and Stroller Barre classes for FIT4MOM of Lake Zurich, Mundelein & Wauconda. It was such a joy to see the residents ooh and ahh over the sweet babies and enjoy the entertainment of my delightful singing (trust me – not so delightful) as we belt out “Old McDonald” and “Down by the Bay” while we exercise. We spent time after class talking to the residents, encouraging them cuddle our little ones and spent some time giving back to others! I left class feeling energized and thankful.

Friday was also a better day 🙂

I guess I shouldn’t say the whole week was awful – because writing it all out is showing me that even through challenges and trials, there are rays of sunshine and good times! On Friday morning, I took Hudson to the ENT to have another hearing test.

Let me go back – when Hudson was born, he failed his hearing test in the left ear. Since then, we have seen the ENT a few times and they have been monitoring his hearing. His medical team wasn’t sure if he had actual hearing loss or if it was due to a buildup of fluid in his ears. Back in December, Hudson’s ENT decided it was time to get eustachian tubes. This requires surgery where a child goes under anesthesia and a teeny-tiny tube is put in his ear to assist with the blockage due to fluid. (This procedure is very common in kiddos with Ds – read here for more info). When I first heard about “tubes,” I thought of straws in my little baby’s ears haha – I laugh at my naiveté – they are so tiny and small. After asking my social media communities about it, so many people had or know someone who had tubes as a child. Turns out – it is an easy procedure and Hudson had a tube placed in his left ear at the beginning of January!

Okay – back to last Friday. This hearing test was Hudson’s first since his tube was placed – this was where we would know…is it hearing loss or is it fluid? Hudson passed his hearing test with flying colors!! His ENT will continue to monitor his hearing – but this a huge sign that it was fluid based versus actual hearing loss.

Saturday – this where things got difficult again.

Poor David – the pain struck again around 9:30am and we were checking into the ER by 12pm. He spent 5.5 hours in the ER while they tried to get his pain under control, conducted an ultrasound to figure out the size of stones and where they were in his body, and tried to determine the next best step. David was admitted to the hospital to stay overnight. While the meds helped numb the intense pain he was experiencing, we were in limbo on his “next step” until 10am on Sunday. The urologist determined that putting a stent in was the best option since he had a few other stones that were still passing (including a few in his kidneys that hadn’t moved at all).

By 12pm on Sunday, David was in the operating room. I always get nervous whenever someone goes under anesthesia. It is such a bizarre concept to me – am I the only who feels this way?! When he came back to his room about 2 hours later, he had some color in his face and was cracking jokes! I am thankful that even temporarily he had some relief but hate that he had to through all of “this” just to feel semi-comfortable. We got him home on Sunday night, picked up his medications from Walgreens and watched the closing ceremony for the Olympics.

Unfortunately, David is scheduled for another surgery this Friday at 11:30am to remove the other stones. It is frustrating that they couldn’t do it all at once and not have to go into the operating room AGAIN – twice in one week. But the doctor feels confident that he can take care of everything in one last procedure. Prayers please!!

Yikes. What’s next?

Well, this week is shaping up to be better – I heard birds chirp for the first time in months yesterday, the sunshine is out today (at a balmy 55 degrees here in Chicago), and we at least have a plan for the week.

I have to remind myself that some weeks are good, some are rough. But the bad ones certainly make me grateful for the smooth weeks full of regular, uneventful days. Even writing about our week reminds me that God provides us respite even during challenging times – like treating Emily and her friend to a late night Coldstone run, seeing Hudson turn his head to the left during the hearing test, watching Tyler serve some great points during volleyball, celebrating David as his hard work as a strong leader pays off at his job and eating dinner together at Maggiano’s with Grandma K.

How do you remind yourself of the blessings in life during difficult times?