A Bitter Sweet Holiday

Aris & Blu 2009

We left for San Diego on December 23rd. The drive went pretty well other than Aris complaining the whole way down. She was much fussier than normal. Dean swore we wouldn't be making this trip next year with a 6 month old. I had to agree with him. Christmas Eve day was filled with lots of family time, wrapping of presents & opening of presents too. We opened our presents on Christmas Eve. There was also crying. The saddest thing happened. Our sweet dog Blu had to be taken to the emergency animal hospital by our sweet neighbor. The diagnosis wasn't good. He was suffering from ketoacidosis a complication due to high blood sugars caused by diabetes. We had no idea he was diabetic. How did I miss this? Seriously, I have a daughter with diabetes. I felt horrible. They said he could be treated over the next five days but it would cost $4,000. There was no grantee that he would even make it. He was really sick. So Dean made the arrangements to have him put down. The saddest thing is we didn't even get to say goodbye. We waited to tell the girls until the Monday after Christmas. We didn't want to ruin Christmas. Sloan took it the hardest. Zoe wanted to make sure he was with Jesus & we assured her he was. I still expect him to run up to the fence every time we drive up to the house. It breaks my heart on a daily basis. I will miss him so much. He was my first dog. Rest well Blu, we will miss you always!

The girls had no idea but Christmas day would be spent at the most magical place on earth, Disneyland. Grandma & Grandpa took everyone to Disneyland as a Christmas present. They were totally surprised too. Sloan had a blast. Zoe didn't understand where we were until I told her we were at Hot Dog, Hot Dog (the new theme song for Mickey Mouse Club House) then she was so excited. Aris was tired and not herself the whole day. Sloan spent the first part of the day with Grandma & Grandpa and her Aunt Jenn. The little ones stayed with us & Uncle Ben & Aunt Kristin. Their favorite ride was Pirates of the Caribbean. They now talk of pirates on a daily basis. Also anyone with a full beard is now officially considered a pirate. They are obsessed! Around 6pm half of the group headed home with the little ones. Dean, Jenn, Eric, Sloan & I stayed so we could ride some more of the rides. We had a blast! Sloan informed me this was the greatest Christmas she had ever had. Every kid should have at least one Christmas like that don't you think?

Monday the 28th Aris woke up from her nap with a fever. She just hadn't been herself the whole trip later that night she stared vomiting and didn't stop until the next day. Poor little Sloan woke up with a high temp on Tuesday morning complaining that she could hardly move. It was awful! We had to drive 9 hours back to Reno with two sick girls. With barf buckets in tow we packed up the car and said our goodbyes. The trip went smoother than expected. I felt like the Lord was really watching out for us. Wednesday I took Sloan to the Dr. & she was given antibiotics for the flu. We only have insurance through the state for Sloan. The rest of us are uninsured. The girls have the most amazing pediatrician & she was kind enough to look at Aris while we were there. Her ears were clear and the flu test came back negative. She wanted to test her urine for a UTI but didn't want to catheterize her because it can be pretty traumatic to little ones. She also thought maybe it was just a different version of the flu. So we went home. Aris had a horrible night. 4am early Thursday morning I rushed her to the ER with a fever of 106.1 it was scary. After all the craziness in the ER (Those people were on the ball. I've never seen so many people help a little one all at once) the said she had a UTI. Her white blood count was 23,000. Then they informed us Aris would probably be admitted. Aris spent 6 days in the pediatric ward. She was finally diagnosed with pyelonephritis. A severe kidney infection. They pumped her full of fluids (so she was no longer dehydrated) & full of antibiotics. I will have to take her in two weeks to have two different tests done on her kidneys to make sure they are working properly again. Other than that she is back to her old self. Spunky and feisty as usual. Looking back on how she was acting over the holidays we figure she started with a UTI before we got to San diego. Because she didn't understand how to tell us it hurt her to go potty it turned into a full blown kidney infection. Maybe we will try the trip again next year? We'll see ;)

I do want to add that as hard as these last few weeks have been there have been so many amazing miracles. Friends from church have brought food over so Dean wouldn't have to cook. Others helped to watch the kids so Dean could go to work. Sloan got better faster than we expected. I also met some of the kindest people in the hospital who showed little Aris so much kindness. Even though we don't have insurance the hospital assigned us a worker who is working to get us into a program to help & pay for the upcoming bill. Times like this are very humbling & a reminder of no matter how hard times may be the Lord still sends so many blessings our way. I am thankful for all of them.

I hope that all of you had a wonderful holiday. I really am feeling a whole lot better & look forward to blogging on a regular basis again. Hugs to you all!

-Summie