Update on Joshua

One of the things that amazed me the most when we got home from the hospital was the realization of how many people prayed for Joshua while he was sick.  We shared requests for prayer with our family and closest friends, and they shared it with their circle and so on.  I was, and continue to be, overwhelmed at the prayers said on his behalf.  There were so many things people did during our hospital stay that were meaningful, and I hope to blog about those one day, but the biggest blessing, honestly, were the prayers.  I know that God heard every one of them and used those prayers to bless us and bless our sweet boy.

As a result of all the people praying, I have been asked for updates from several people lately, and blogging about it seemed the easiest way to do that.

The best news is that we are basically at the end of tracking his pneumonia.  On Wednesday, I took him to the Infectious Disease doctor who ran labs and repeated his X-ray.  We got the results on Thursday morning and found out that his lung looks so much better – which was actually wonderful news.  The doctor said he expected it would look the same as it did when we discharged or possibly slightly better. When Joshua was discharged, pneumonia covered his entire right lung.  Now, the doctor said it is down to a small spot with only a little fluid that should dry up on its own.  That means the antibiotic worked, and we don’t need to continue with it. 

The doctor said his lab work was much improved but there was still one number that was higher than he liked.  He recommended repeating the labs again in a month to see where it is, and we hope to see that it has fallen by that point.  None of this is concerning at this point – it just means that his body is still recovering from such a big fight. 

The big take away is that, at this point, his immune system is still very much compromised.  So, while he is so much better and definitely out of the woods with his illness, he might not have the resources to fight another virus well at this point – which is scary during cold and flu season.  The ID doctor fully supported our pediatrician who recommended to keep him out of any childcare setting and public place through January and possibly longer depending on how his bloodwork looks in February.  As a result of his advice, and particularly his thoughts on how dangerous the flu could be for Joshua, we decided to cancel our plans to put him in preschool with Abigail this semester.  I will also not be bringing him to the Y until flu season has passed. 

Going forward, he will have the next set of labs in a month to follow up on the labs from this week.  Hopefully that will be the last set of labs.  He is a hard stick for nurses because his veins are deep, and it is horrifying to get the blood (so any prayers those go well in February would be great!).  We discussed cystic fibrosis testing and testing for immune deficiencies – both of which were suggested in the hospital.  We can’t do either of those tests until he is entirely over this illness, but Andy and I are not sure we will choose to do further testing.  We are going to talk to our pediatrician more about that in February to gain more information and then decide what our game plan with him should be.

I’m so thankful that Joshua is back to himself outwardly, though.  He is gaining weight – and eating like crazy!  He is running around again and laughing and his baby rolls are coming back.  

Today, I played with him, and I was so overcome with thankfulness that he is home and doing great.  In light of all that, the isolation is not easy, but I do think the Lord is trying to break me quickly of believing that I need anything but him.  I know that if we were still in Clemmons, this time of keeping Joshua home would not be what it is here.  There, I still had a wonderful community that I’d be able to see even while keeping Joshua out of the settings of which we’ve been cautioned.  Here, I don’t have that.  Getting out and going places was the only time I even saw another adult.  It’s hard as the loneliness tries to creep in, but I also hear the Lord’s voice saying, “I am more than enough for you.”  I hope that is a lesson I learn well and fully this season.  Coming back to Charlotte is showing me that I put a lot of my identity in who I was within my community of people.  I was blessed in Clemmons to have been able to find my place solidly – as a preschool mom, a church member, a Bible Study leader, a neighbor, a friend, a wife.  But moving out of it, I see that I mistakenly allowed those communities to define my identity.  And my identity can only be found in Christ.  I think the Lord is making it clear that my job is not to land in a new location and immediately start carving out a new community in which I can find myself again.  I can only find myself in Him and who he says I am, and I can only do that if I allow myself to slow down and be still enough to just be with the Lord.  And, in this case, not just with the Lord but also with my sweet, sweet baby who is growing up way too fast!

If you prayed, thank you so much.  I am not lying when I say every prayer was felt.  Much thanks – S.