Pneumonia #6 and a last minute "mommycation"

Cooper was diagnosed with his 6th case of pneumonia at the end of March.  It was his 3rd case this year - yes, he has had 3 separate cases of pneumonia since January!  The doctors are saying his asthma is causing simple viruses or colds to travel (practically overnight) to his lungs.  I'm not convinced that is what is happening so I'm in the process of looking for a pediatric immunologist for a consult - this has been suggested by a few friends of mine who have themselves experienced immunodeficiency conditions which have lead to frequent illness. 


Meanwhile, Cooper endured yet another round of antibiotics and we all had the (dis)pleasure of him receiving another round of steroidal inhalants both of which of course come with the most horrendous side effects in the digestive and personality departments. We barely survived it since amidst Cooper's pneumonia Bob and I both fell ill too.  In fact, we became so sick that I seriously felt worse than my worst days during chemo for a couple of days there - it was horrendous.  Nearly a full week of almost entirely sleepless nights, much of the week Bob was away and I was barely functioning and getting any work done during the day while trying to get Cooper better but having him home from daycare due to needing around the clock care in the form of medications and breathing treatments. I felt like I was losing my mind and then on top of that I had to miss church two consecutive weeks - one week because I was traveling for work just before everyone got sick and the other because Cooper was so ill and Bob was away so I couldn't bring him anywhere and couldn't leave him with a sitter either - too much to do to keep up with his treatments and keep his fever down and so on. The exhaustion plus coming down with the virus myself and then cabin fever and dealing with the steroid-induced tantrums - it was all just too much. 


We were supposed to go on a family vacation last week but we canceled it since we didn't think it would be fair to other travelers to bring Cooper on an airplane with his wild steroid-induced mood swings and we also didn't want to risk being in an unfamiliar place if he stopped improving and required more medical attention.  And then we also incurred very unexpected and very costly car repairs for Bob's car which basically wiped out the vacation fund.  But the idea of going away was helping me push forward through the craziness of what was happening here so my stress and frustration level only rose as it seemed more and more unlikely that there'd be a vacation.


I prayed that the Lord would guide us to make the right decisions about Cooper's health, our vacation, and our finances. I expressed my full trust and faith in God that all of our needs would be met and things will calm down soon enough.  And they were, and they did.


When I was talking to my mom about the disappointment that our vacation was canceled she offered to send us/me the key to their condo in Naples,FL and we considered going there to save money on hotels (originally we had a D.C. vacation planned) but Bob still didn't want to take Cooper on a plane and he himself was still feeling pretty bad although he was definitely on the mend by the end of that last week in March - we all were, slowly but surely.  Mom helped me see how much I really needed to get away - how I was run down, not sleeping enough, and it was spilling over into not only my ability to function well but my ability to be nice even when I wanted to be.  So after some checking around to make sure I could pull it off financially by covering a rental car expense with earned reward points and having enough to cover my groceries, gas and admission prices for a couple activities, I decided to propose a solo mommy vacation to see if Bob would be ok with that.  Bless his heart, he was OK with it and agreed I really needed to escape. 


I don't want to gloat but I will say that it was exactly what I needed and more - and it was all the more wonderful being able to get away with Bob's blessing, and to feel God's blessing too through opened opportunity doors to get me there and back not just safely and smoothly but in the most blessed and rewarding ways. I enjoyed some much needed sleep and relaxation, some beach time, lots of prayer time, time with my nose in a book, and time with a couple of amazing friends who I only get to see very very rarely.  I got to "see" Bob and Cooper every day a couple times per day via the video-chat feature on our iPhones and the iPad so although I didn't get a physical hug and kiss from them I got to see them "blow kisses" my way on video and that was pretty awesome.  I also got to see my wonderful husband step in and take control like a pro and handle Cooper perfectly and let me enjoy my time away without making me feel bad about it but instead encouraging me to get plenty of sleep/rest.  


I'm so blessed and grateful for this wonderful life I have - the most wonderful and generous family and friends that continue to bless me in ways that I'm sure I don't deserve but for which I'm incredibly appreciative.  God is amazing.


I'm back home now and my boys did great without me but welcomed me home with lots of hugs and kisses. In the airport when they came to pick me up, Cooper ran to me with open arms while yelling "Moooooommmmy


Praise the Lord, Cooper is healthy again and Bob is mostly back to normal too except for a mild lingering cough (thankfully his chest x-ray was clear so we know he's OK there) and I feel back to normal too.