Ryleigh's Scare

Well, in preparation for fall activities, we joined our church's Mom's Group at a pumpkin patch during the last week in October. Ryan loved it!

There were all sorts of fun activities for him to do, including the big job of picking out our pumpkin! He took this job VERY seriously.

Of course, being a Hutta Boy... he had to pick out the LARGEST pumpkin available! It made me laugh.. the thing weighed more than he did! Somehow I was able to load that orange beast into our car without harming any children. I was mildly proud of myself!

But it was later that night when Ryleigh's temperature spiked. After calling my pediatrician, I raced off to Chandler Regional. Ryan was able to stay with my friend Robin who happened to be having dinner with me that night since Mike was in Houston. My Dad eventually took over for her while my Mom met me at the ER.

They tested my baby for everything.. even X-rayed her too... and then they did a spinal on her. Once that was done, they called an ambulance to load her up and take her to Gilbert Mercy's Children's Unit where we remained until we were cleared of bacterial meningitis.

It wasnt fun to see my baby like this. I was really afraid, especially since I had no information on meningitis. My only exposure to it had deadly outcomes. I was along for the ride with my Mom by my side, we prayed fervently.

Mike was in the worse situation. He was in Texas and totally unable to get home at a moment's notice. He entertained the idea of driving straight home.. but thankfully decided against it. However, he was able to be home within fifteen hours of Ryleigh's spiked temp! Praise God! Once he was in Chandler, he didn't want to let go of his baby. But he eventually handed her back over to me and then returned home to love on Ryan. Ryan was a champ through this whole ordeal. He met his grandparents at the door as the host of his home, calmly telling them what was going on. He was very brave and very much in control at the house.

Ryleigh and I were able to visit with some wonderful and sweet friends though. We had some amazing people show up at the hospital to give us sweet hugs and prayers in person: Thanks Mikele, Uncle Scott, Aunt Diana, and Sarah! ... and we had sweet phone calls from friends far away that took the time to track us down; Thanks Katie, Heather, and Stasia!!

Uncle Scott and Aunt Diana visiting us and educating us on their experience when Nathan had meningitis when he was a few weeks old. They were a wealth of information early on.. thanks!

Sarah's visit, holding Ryleigh. You can see Ryleigh's cast and IV.

There was concern whether Ryan had been exposed to anything deadly.. and since fears were high in our community, the hospital invited Ryan to participate in their Trick-or-Treat Event.

Ryan was not at all prepared for Halloween and had no idea what to expect. Mike and I were still debating on how this 'holiday' would look in our family... but with all the medical scares, we just went with it! Besides, the hospital went out of the way to include him and make him feel special.. even if he didnt want to wear their doctor's outfit they had gathered!

But, by that evening.. Ryan got the hang of the trick-or-treating atmosphere! He even allowed Gma-Dor and Pop-Pop to buy him a costume! When our neighbors heard that Ryan was given free reign of the hospital.. they were much more comfortable letting him participate in their activities. Here are some of our street's little monsters.

A few days after Halloween, Ryleigh was released. She was given a clean bill of health. She did not have bacterial meningitis. Whatever it was, it was viral and already defeated by her immune system. It could have been the common cold for all we know. She was okay. And that was all that was important.

I celebrated by getting a much needed haircut. It seemed wrong to do that straight out the hospital.. but when Mike asked me what I wanted.. that was the only thing I could think of :) Besides.. we had a huge party to finish preparing for a week away! I had to look good for it ;)

Praise God for Ryleigh's Health!