Update on the Pipster...

*This is just a LOT of text about our ongoing experiences with our little Piper. This is super lengthy, but I'm really trying harder to journal better, so bear with me! Pics to come when I figure out how to transfer text message pics to my computer!!!

It's been a really long 2 weeks since I last posted! Although we're initially "out of the woods" with Piper's health, there's still a whole lot of unanswered questions. Poor thing has been put through the ringer this past month. She started throwing up last Saturday night on our way home from dinner. (Nothing better than car throw ups, right???) She threw up ALL night and finally stopped Sunday morning. Beck started throwing up that night too, so we figured they caught the flu bug my nieces had had the week before. Beck was fine by Sunday night; Pippi was not. She started with crazy icky diarrhea Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Then, Tuesday night, she started throwing up AGAIN! That lasted most of Tuesday night. Seriously, poor, poor baby! At this point, she was barely eating and drinking, and nothing was staying in her system long enough to do any good. I called the pediatrician Wednesday morning and told him that she hadn't had a wet diaper for 36 hours. He sent us to the ER for IV fluids. I was far from prepared (we were at the ENT's office for her post op appt and I had Beck with me too) but we headed to the ER. They got us right back, but it ended up taking 3 1/2 hours total. That's a REALLY long time in a little room with a 21 month old and a 4 year old! The ER doc was suspicious of another UTI because of the renal reflux, so he ordered a urinalysis. The nurses had to cath her and I just cried. It's so hard to have to hold your little one down while they just look at you with ginormous eyes and scream "owie..." over and over again. Then it was time for the IV. We had seen the immunologist that Monday (today was Wednesday) and he wanted a million more tests run to see what's going on with her. We tried a lab in the same building, but they wanted her to come back a total of 4 times to draw all the blood. Seriously?!? She's 1. Not happening. We had planned to take her back to Primary's, but I figured since they were already poking her for an IV, why not just have this hospital run her labs. They agreed and were able to draw 20 ml's for her lab work (a lot for a little one) and then just hook her up to the fluid with the same IV catheter. What a little blessing that was. One less traumatic thing to put her through. Her IV was positional, so they had to do a wet splint to immobilize her little hand. She's definitely not a big fan of IV's. Once it was in, I could snuggle her and she was able to suck her thumb with her other hand, so she was ok. Jenny stopped by about this time to grab Beckett. He was trying so hard to be good, but it's a tad bit frustrating to have to hold down your baby while blood is being drawn and and IV started while your 4 year old is jumping from a chair saying, "I'm just really, really thirsty mom. I'm getting pretty bored mom... Mom, are you having fun???" Lots of great gems from the Beck. Anyways, Jenny came and took him to preschool, and as she was leaving, my mom stopped by on her lunch break to see Pip. Pippi was calm at this point and loved the extra snuggles from her Grandma Jilly. They played Angry Birds on my mom's phone for a long time. Pippi loved it! They gave her quite a bit of fluid and Zofran in her IV to help with nausea. FINALLY, it was time to go. The dr gave us the ok, and we couldn't leave fast enough. We were 1/2 way home when she said, "mommy, owie!!!" and waved her pink coban covered splint at me. They had forgotten to take out her IV! Granted, I was too consumed with leaving to notice either... Needless to say, I removed the IV in the Taco Time drive through. She was a new girl after that. She was able to eat and drink more and more as the night progressed, but still didn't have a wet diaper until the next morning! She was just super dehydrated! She hasn't thrown up since and is back to craziness...

As for me, I think I've handled a lot of this past month really well. The occasional break down, yes, but overall, I think I've done well. My body disagrees! I started itching like crazy the day we found out that Piper's blood smear at Primary's was non malignant. It was on my right side, but since there was no rash, I didn't think much about it. It kept getting more and more persistant. I finally checked out my back and I had a good sized raised patch/rash there. I took antihistamines with no change. FINALLY, I had to run into work last Thursday for a surgery, and I had a dermatologist look at it. Shingles. Super. Just what I needed! They put me on anti virals and a steriod cream. I have felt like a leper! It took almost another week for the blisters to completely scab over, and until then I couldn't be around anyone who either hadn't had chicken pox, or hadn't been vaccinated (babies under 1, etc.). The meds have definitely sped up the process, but the itching is still pretty crazy!

We're all on the mend around here now. I'm no longer contagious, Piper is eating and drinking, London never got sick (thank heavens!) and things are good! We're waiting on the test results and they should be back within the week. Dr. Jones, the immunologist, is running tests that basically break down and examine the leukocytes to see why 30% are still abnormal. Hopefully we'll get some answers and hopefully some more good news. We'll just wait and see! For now, we're really looking foreward to Easter and all the fun it brings. It's been 6 weeks since I was last at church because Piper's dr. recommended not taking her indefinitely and because of the shingles. We're going to at least go to Sacrament meeting this Easter Sunday, and I can't wait to go! I've really, really missed it. For now, we'll just switch every other Sunday, with one of us staying home with the baby, and the other taking the big kids. Hopefully it won't be for much longer!

On a lighter note, we were driving home from York and Jenny's tonight and I was talking to the kiddos about why we celebrate Easter. London, very seriously, said, "I think Heavenly Father just really, really wants to make kids smile!" Then she said, "do we celebrate because Jesus died?" I started explaining that we celebrate Easter to remember Christ's resurrection when Beck jumped in with this..."But mommy, I just really need to know more about dinosaurs and why they all died when the earth got so cold..." Completely valid in the Easter conversation, right? That's the Becksta for ya! Smart as a whip, but has the most random thought processes of anyone I know!

More updates to come!!!