Around Here: 25 2023

 {June 18-24th}

Waking up... on Sunday morning to a terrifying phone call from Jack with Wyatt screaming in the background. They had slept over Saturday night (all three boys) at the land with Grandma and were up riding when Jack noticed the four wheeler sitting by itself in the middle of nowhere on the 40 acres. He wondered where Wyatt was and why the four wheeler was left out there.  So he grabbed the Side-by-side and drove out to where the four wheeler sat and found Wyatt, unconscious on the ground.  Wyatt was starting to come to as soon as he was able, he started crying and hyperventilating and freaking out. Jack called me to see if I could calm him down. 

Meeting... Uncle Samuel and Aunt Makayla at the hospital where they drove Wyatt for me. The land is about twenty minutes from our house (the hospital is less than five minutes from us) so they drove him for me to save time. (Thanks you guys. I am so grateful!) Once we got Wyatt checked him, still crying hysterically and asking me if he was going to die, I realized that he wasn't making a lot of sense. He kept repeating himself and couldn't remember what had happened. He just kept asking if he was going to die, and if we could go home. And he would tell me his back hurt. Those three things over and over and over again. Praise all good nurses, the nurse who was doing admitting saw Wyatt's state and got us back and quick as she could. They got an IV in him and got him some Fentanyl (which freaked me out a little) and finally he settled. 

Until... the doctor came in to ultrasound Wyatt's internal organs. The pain of the doctor pushing on Wyatt's abdomen had him in hysterics again. He was literally yelling at the doctor to STOP! Asking him if he was going to die and telling us how bad it hurt. 

Thankfully... when all was said and done, his organs were all fine, as were his bones. He is majorly scraped up and bruised (I have never in my life seen bruises like the one he has on his back) and he suffered a minor Traumatic Brain Injuiry (TBI) and I joked to Josh and my family that "minor" and "TBI" really don't feel like they belong in the same sentence. But after about two hours at the hospital and a little nap, Wyatt was able to answer all my questions and he stopped repeating himself. 

Being sent home... with instructions to keep his environment as unstimulating as possible and a follow up appointment with the orthopedic surgeon to check on his elbow which looked like maybe it was broken, but the swelling made it hard to tell. All in all, being sent home the same day, I was so, so grateful it wasn't worse. And I was really grateful for Jack to for keeping an eye out for his brother. Everyone was so amazing. 

That said... the doctor in the ER also told me that the radiologist noticed on the imaging that Wyatt's lymph nodes in his abdomen are enlarged and swollen and he suggested I make an appointment to follow up on that to rule out anything serious. Gulp. 

Extra grateful... that my parents had just bought the boys new helmets. Wyatt's helmet was cracked and broken in two places, and his head had some minor contusions from the impact, but all in all, it could have been much worse but thanks to that new helmet, it wasn't. He fully recovered by the end of the week and has no lasting damage, praise the lord.

Basically forgetting... that it was Father's Day and feeling like the worst wife. Thankfully Carly is as thoughtful as they come and she put up a little "Father's Day" sign in the hallway by our bedroom for Josh. Jack, too, took matters into his own hands and made Josh a card. I am so proud of my kids for how they are. Gosh. I'm so lucky. 

Following up... with Wyatt's primary care doctor to get bloodwork done to rule out leukemia or lymphoma as the cause of his enlarged lymph nodes. To say I was terrified would be an understatement. And I did not share with Wyatt that any of this was the case. He knew he had enlarged lymph nodes and needed bloodwork, but that's it. I didn't mention the C word to him because he's like me, and I knew he would freak out. (Like I was). We were supposed to hear back the next day. But we didn't. 

Distracted... the following day with a lovely visit from my mom and sister and nieces and nephews. My sister got Crumbl cookies for us and my  mom brought all kinds of good food and we just sat around talking and playing and watching our kids be cute. It was awesome. 

Enjoying... garden strawberries which are tiny, but so good when warmed by the sun. Yum!

Finding out... via email that I had three MAJOR tests to take by August 1st in order to get my student teaching application submitted for student teaching next spring. I had NO idea and I was freaking out when I read that. I went to Josh crying and he was like, okay. Well, let's see if they have any tests this week you could go take. (I needed to get the tests take ASAP because I needed the results by August 1st and the turnaround time for some of these tests is nearly a month!) Praise the Lord, we found one NES test at Big Bend (near us), another at a Charter College in tri-cities, about an hour and a half from us, and the WEST-B (with all three parts, English, Writing and Math) at Central Washington University about an hour and fifteen minutes from us. So we signed up ($90 for each of the three tests) and I spent Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday taking test after test after test until my brain felt so fried I thought it would pack up and move out. 

Passing... miraculously ALL THREE TESTS!!! The relief that washed over me when I found out I had passed all three tests cannot be matched. It was so hard to leave and go spend my days taking those tests knowing: a) I was leaving for Europe in a few days and wasn't at home spending time with Wyatt, Carly, Logan and Josh and b) not knowing whether Wyatt was going to be okay or not, waiting to get the restuls of his blood test. But I did it. And I am so proud of myself for doing so. 

Smiling... at Josh's cheerleading in the shower. "Yes You Can! So Proud!" he wrote on the wall with Carly's foam alphabet. He really is my best cheerleader and he believes in me even when I don't believe in myself. 

Receiving... the sweetest Starbucks gift card from my sister-in-law Julie when she heard I passed all my tests. She is so thoughtful. 

Using... that gift card to take my youngest two on a day date before I left. I knew I was going to miss them so much and spending that time together was really fun. I just love those two goofy goobers.

Ironically... I was weaning myself off of coffee for my trip because I didn't want to be dependent on it in case I couldn't find any that I liked while in Europe. So we just got treats to share while at Starbuck's. So yum!

Calling... our phone company and our bank to let them know I'd be traveling overseas.  Our phone company (AT&T) said that they charge $15/day for the first person overseas and $10/day for the second person. So for about $200 Jack and I will fully be able to use our phones while we're gone. 

Getting... euros from my mom since our bank doesn't deal in international currency. I am so grateful my mom was able to get it for me. It was fun to see it and marvel at the differences between those and the dollar. One thing I didn't like was the different sizes. I like that all American money is the same size. All of this prepping is making it really real that I am going to Rome soon! It's so surreal!

Reading... Circe, which is a Greek mythology story, but it's so good, you don't even have to know or like Greek mythology to enjoy the story. Highly recommend!

Sending... the twins off to my mom's for two nights in the middle of the week so that they could have some fun before Jack and I leave on our trip. They had a great time and I was happy for it to be a little calmer at our house this week both for Wyatt who is still recovering from his accident and for Josh who was mostly on his own as I was gone testing so dang much. 

Taking... off Wyatt's elbow sling so he could get in the pool, and feeling grateful his arm looks so good! His back has continued to look worse (you know how bruises are- they look worse before they look better) but his elbow/arm look really good. 

Finally... getting a phone call four days later letting us know that Wyatt's blood draw was clear and he doesn't appear to have leukemia or lypmhoma. I couldn't believe it. I was weak with gratitude, nearly bursting into tears and calling everyone who had been praying.  Our boy is okay. Praise the Lord. 

Packing... only a carry on + backpack Saturday to take the Seattle on Sunday for a quick night in the hotel with Jack and a day of airports and airplanes Monday. 

***

I think I already shared it.
But I love it. So here it is again. :)

I cry. Like, a lot. 
Reading this helped me better understand why.