Our Version of Normal

PeyPey's face says it all!!! It has been quite a few CRAAAAAZZZZY days for the Dickinson family!

On Saturday, we had the privilege of spending the day in West Chester watching Jason's brother, Adam, graduate from WCU with a degree in criminal justice. The ceremony was nice, but long. And here is a picture of the girls with our favorite graduate . . .


We had a party afterwards, where we discovered that Caleigh loves games that involve a bean bag toss (you'd better believe that we're going to get one of those for the new house)!


Mother's Day was less than ideal. Although my wonderful family took me out for lunch, disaster was about to ensue. Towards the end of the meal, PeyPey was getting a bit antsy, so I held her. I could practically feel her temperature rising in my arms. By the time we got her home, her fever was up to 105!! We immediately got some Motrin into her & called Aunt Sharon. We wanted to avoid the ER (Sunday, Mother's Day . . . what are the odds that we would actually see a pediatrician?). We were able to get the fever down & manage it throughout the night (even though that meant we were up all night). In the morning, I called our family doctor. We were sent to the ER anyway. I must say, I was less than thrilled with our experience there. I'm about to get on my soapbox, so here goes:

As a mom who has no knowledge of the medical field,
I feel completely unqualified to argue with the medical
staff, even when my mother's intuition tells me that
something is not right. I don't know what to tell them that I
want . . . I just know that I want something more than what
they're giving me. I don't know what the problem is . . . I just know
what I think it's not. I don't know on what basis I don't
believe them . . . I just don't believe them. So
where did that leave me on Monday??

We were sent to the hospital for the following reasons: the results to all tests & bloodwork could be given to us STAT, an IV of antibiotics could be started, & PeyPey could get some fluids immediately to prevent dehydration.

Not only did we not see a pediatrician, we didn't even see a doctor. We saw a physician's assistant who looked into PeyPey's ears, said it was an infection, gave us an antibiotic, & sent us on our merry way. We spend the rest of the day on Monday watching Pey's every move, administering Tylenol & Motrin at regular intervals, & doing our best to keep her cool. On Monday evening around midnight, Pey's temperature spiked again to 104.8. What to do??? We had already been to the ER & had given her the first dose of antibiotic. We gave her more medicine . . . nothing. So we moved on to a cool bath . . . nothing. Finally, we put an ice pack on the back of her neck & rocked her to sleep. Around 1:30 am, we got her down to 102. It was a scary night.

By morning, her temperature was normal & has been ever since. Please keep little Peyton in your prayers. We are concerned that her illness is not just an infection (although I have no medical basis for this ~ just Mother's Intuition). Please pray that if it is just an infection, we can knock it out for good this time.

On Tuesday my poor husband had the arduous task of taking care of all 3 of his girls, as I was sedated for 5 hours for dental work. With me out of commission, he certainly had his hands full!!!!! He has some funny stories to tell about me on the pain meds . . . although I don't remember any of it!

But, I guess it was all worth it in the long run. While I was unconscious, the girls were with our favorite babysitters, & Jason was watching the crown for my tooth being made, our house was being sold. Yes, you heard me correctly . . . we sold our house!!! Barring any unforeseen glitches, we will be moving on June 25th. We're really excited, but also a little sad. Things are becoming more final every day. We are trying to take one day at a time & walk by faith one step at a time.

But for now, this is our new version of normal!!!