happy little parasites

This has been one of the weirdest and most intense weeks of our lives as parents. Just over two weeks ago, our little guy (Dexter, age 22 months) started a strange pattern of vomiting in the middle of the night. He was his usual hungry, happy, spirited self during the day but around midnight every night he would have a fit of vomiting, usually lasting about an hour, and then go back to sleep and be fine until the next night.

After a week of this we took him to his pediatrician, who told us to wait a few more days and keep an eye out for dehydration. The next day he had all the signs of severe dehydration, so we took him to the ER. Three days later we were still in the hospital, our boy was sicker than when we arrived, and we had no answers. The pediatric hospitalist decided to have Dexter transferred to a bigger hospital downtown so that we could have access to more specialists, more testing, and a bigger and more comfortable room. Just as we were walking out the door, the lab results came back showing that Dexter had several parasites in his system. Most parents would be upset to hear this, but we were ecstatic to finally have answers. Plus we knew that out of all the things that could have been causing his illness, parasites were one of the most easily treatable possibilities.


eating some toast in our room at Valley


portable dvd player = lifesaver


headed to swedish, happy to finally know what's wrong!

So right now we are hanging out, watching Bolt on the 9th floor of Swedish Hospital. Dexter has an IV in his foot (tried 5 other places, that's another story for another post) that is keeping him hydrated and an NG tube (tube up his nose down into his stomach) through which he is getting anti-parasitic drugs and nutritional formula. Hopefully the tube will come out soon and we can see how he does with normal eating and drinking again. Dexter has been an absolute champ through all the poking, prodding, puking, sticking, and laying around in a hospital room. I will post a few more times about some of the different experiences we have had this week, but for now I will wrap up by saying THANK YOU to every one of you who has prayed for us, cared for Nate, brought us food, and supported us this week. God has used each of you to bless us when we most needed it.


playing in bed at swedish

More stories to come...