What the heck is that?

Tuesday Nov. 22 - Daniel comes home from school with strep...while at Urgent Care Wesley and Johnny start throwing up.

Wednesday Nov. 23 - Wesley wakes from his nap with a fever and completely covered from his ears to his feet in tiny red bumps. While in the same room at Urgent Care we were in the day before I am told it is just whatever virus he has clearing itself out of his system. Yeah right! Then I notice some strange red lumps all over the front of my legs.

Thursday Nov. 24, Thanksgiving and Daniel's 6th birthday - Johnny (still not feeling 100%) stays home with Daniel and Wesley whose rash has spread to his mouth, throat, lips, and hands. I head to my sister's with Jaxon and Garrett. Poor Daniel missed Thanksgiving on his birthday. My family all think Wesley had Fifth Disease but I think it is Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease. Either way it is a virus and just has to run its course.

Friday Nov. 25, Johnny's birthday - Load up and head to my parent's house for the long weekend. Half way there I start puking in a bucket. Wesley keeps telling me he wants to "see the puke." Happy birthday honey! That night Jaxon throws up even though he already had a stomach bug while we were in Denver just two weeks ago!

Sat/Sun/Mon - The lumps on my legs have turned into huge swollen lumps, my joints hurt, I'm tired and itchy. The lumps appear on my arms. My ankles swell and it is painful to walk. See how swollen my knees and legs are!

Due to a disgusting presentation at Jaxon's preschool on how completely rampant bed bugs are in Kern County CA I can't sleep thinking bugs are crawling all over me. I started thinking the issue with my legs might be from (dare I even say it) a bed bug infestation. Eeeeewwwww. Luckily Johnny has some sense and convinced me if they were bug bites I would not be the only one with them covering my body.

Today, a trip to the doctor. Lucky me...I have Valley Fever which is not as disgusting bed bugs but is also a huge problem in Kern County. I have to let it run its course and since it is not in my lungs I am not in the high risk category. Whoever said Bakersfield CA is the armpit of CA sure was right!

Sickness, sickness, go away! Please don't come again another day!

Denver Results

My mother and I took Jaxon to see a team of EE specialists at Children's Hospital Colorado from Thursday Nov. 10 - Tuesday Nov. 15th. The schedule was a little overwhelming and quite grueling but the results were worth the trip. Just having another set of hands to help with Garrett was such a blessing and most of the time I would come out of an appointment to find my mom like this...

The first day was meeting all the different doctors, going over health histories, enrolling in research projects, initial rounds or skin testing, etc. That night Jaxon threw up for almost three hours but still had an endoscopy and PH probe placed on Friday morning. The endoscopy actually showed his bruised stomach from all the retching. He was a trooper. No crying or protesting. He was amazing.

The endoscopy results showed almost no irritation, minor ringing of the esophagus, and a very minimal amount of eosinophils (meaning he gets to keep eating CORN! Hallelujah!).

The PH probe was irritating but he never messed with it or tried to pull it out. The arm restraints were not necessary, but he did bring them home to use on his brothers!

The weekend was spent with more vomiting and two days of fever which ultimately convinced me Jaxon had a flu bug rather than a food reaction. Also over the weekend I broke out in hives covering my arms. I think it was due to the hotel room chair I was using to nurse Garrett. Monday was more skin testing and Behavioral Health screenings with a psychologist. Tuesday we saw a feeding specialist and a Dietitian who both feel Jaxon is getting a well rounded diet, but is lacking Calcium, of course.

One major issue we addressed is the constant gnawing on non-food items. Toys, rubber balls, stickers, paper, etc. They gave Jaxon six "chew toys" so he has something safe to put in his mouth if he feels a need for oral stimulation in that way. I can not tell you how much it bothers me that my 4 year-old has chew toys, but it is better than him eating plastic and bouncy balls!

The overall consensus when we left was that Jaxon is going to trial rice for a few months, then wheat, then we will have another endoscopy in 4-6 months to confirm he is tolerating those two before moving onto the last two, dairy and eggs. We toyed with the idea of putting him on proton pump inhibitors so he could eat unrestricted, but decided while he is young we need to enforce the food restrictions as much as possible until we are sure which ones he is reacting to. Meds would be easier and it is tempting to start using them, but once he goes to meds there will likely be no turning back.

A final bonus of our trip was to visit my friend Marianne Touron and her amazing little family. Marianne and I grew up together in Hemet CA. She was and is a great friend and one of the great examples of a Christlike woman on this earth!

Rumor Mill Results

Yes, Johnny was laid off on Monday the 14th while I was in Denver. Apparently they laid him off (along with a handful of other guys) due to a reduction in work. Actually it is not as bad as I always initially think it will be. He was able to take care of the boys more while I was in Denver freeing up my dad from having them the whole time AND he was laid off the day before there was an accident on the job site causing an electrical fire. I am glad he was not there, just in case! There are only a few guys on the out of work list ahead of him so it should not be a long wait. In reality it is nice to have him home right before the holidays when everything is busy.

Usually he would file for unemployment during the time he is laid off, but since Garrett was born this year he gets to file for six weeks of paid "bonding time." Whenever and wherever he is sent I will be staying in Bakersfield with the boys until Christmas so Daniel can finish the first half of the school year. Wow my life is crazy and confusing, but I really do appreciate everyone's prayers on our behalf.

Rumor Mill

Usually I hate the rumor mill...but when it comes to work rumors I eat it up! Why? Because they are usually true!

Johnny had his once a month training class on Saturday where he was told by other apprentices PG&E (the big power company out here) is pulling back their work from the contractors. PAR, Henkels & McCoy, and Diversified being the main three. We are working with Diversified right now and they were supposed to be the least affected. Layoff time frame? Next Thursday the 15th. Some guys were already told for sure it will be their last day.

Johnny was given a heads up at work this morning that because of this shift in work loads they are going to lay off a whole crew from his yard. Since Johnny is still an apprentice not a journeyman he will be one of the first guys to go. Essentially we are not going to be in Bakersfield much longer without some major Divine intervention.

Whenever I start hearing the layoff rumors my palms get sweaty, I have a constant pain in my chest. My head aches. I get all weepy and cry at the drop of a hat. It is the unknown that does it to me. Of course everything is more complicated now that Daniel is in school. Do we pull him out? Live separate so he can keep going to school here? Switch to home school? And of course the big ultimate question we ask ourselves constantly...are we doing right by our kids living this way?

If Johnny is laid off again it will be the 3rd year in a row right before Christmas! He will go back on the waiting list to be sent somewhere else. Please pray we stay here! I need all the help I can get!