A far cry from this miserable little girl...
Let's count the loveys shall we? I see six....
Maddie is finally back at school, and back to her happy little self. Soon after her shunt tap came back negative, we were discharged from the hospital, with strict orders to watch her carefully for any signs that the infection was returning. If she had any fever, or any redness reappear, we were to go straight back to Children's. So we held our breath for the first few days. Maddie was given an enormous amount of antibiotics to take for the next week, and each dose was a struggle. Poor girl was taking 4 different doses, per day of the stuff. Big meds for a little girl, equals tummy troubles...which further complicated things, and delayed her return to school and therapies. I felt so bad for her. She was feeling better, and after all the bed-rest in the hospital, she wanted so badly to get moving, and go back to school and her routine, and it was just too soon. So I kept her here, and we were stir-crazy together. On top of everything, Chris has been out of town for the last 2 weeks, so I've been feeling beyond scattered. But I can see the light at the end of this tunnel... Chris comes home tomorrow, and I'm finally starting to breathe normal again.
I won't lie to you...I'm still watching her like a hawk. I'm still frustrated that the doctors never figured out how she got this, and why it presented like a little red map down her shunt tract. I'm nervous, because the areas that were swollen and hard, are still swollen and hard. They're not red and angry like they were, but they're still visible...more like a bruised area now, and still painful to touch. I take tremendous comfort in seeing how happy she is to be feeling better, and that really helps me not focus so much energy on the nagging questions and concerns that remain.
I'd rather focus my energy on happier things anyways...
Like my little guy who took his kindergarten graduation pictures this week. (this one actually made me cry... not sure how it ended up on the "happy list"... sigh.)
Like seeing her make silly faces again...
Like Easter crafts with these two...
It's scary how quickly things can change. When things are going so well...when you've finally found your rhythm...when you start focusing entirely on the future, life has a way of reminding you that we are not promised even today. We can take it as it comes, or we can curl up in a ball and beg for it to stop... maybe a little of both. Either way, somehow, we keep calm and carry on. We live through it, we learn from it, and we hug our babies tighter when it's all over.
