managing

Dexter checks out the view from the 9th floor of Swedish Hospital

It looks like we are going to be here for awhile. In the meantime I am learning good lessons like how to speak hospital (double every time estimate you're given), how to tell which beeps mean what (IV vs. feeding tube), and how to keep your child entertained for hours in a small room (thank you, Pixar). The one thing I have not quite learned is how to manage my expectations.

When Jon was 9, he drank mountain stream water while camping with his family. A few days later he had flu-like symptoms. When they persisted for a week, they tested him and found out he had picked up the parasite Giardia in the stream water. He started anti-parasitic drugs and felt completely back to normal within hours of his first dose.

When the doctors told us that Dexter had parasites, part of the reason we were so happy to hear it was that we expected the drug treatments to make him feel better right away. 36 hours since the diagnosis, over 24 hours since the start of treatment, and Dexter is no better. If one were a pessimist, one could even say he is worse than when he started treatment because he has spent one more day of his life in a hospital (not to mention the weight he has continued to lose).

Naturally, we are discouraged that our expectations weren't met, our son is still sick, and we'll be living in this hospital room for longer than we thought. But in the midst of that, we are blessed by good medical staff, supportive friends and family, and even a gorgeous view of Mt. Rainier from our hospital room. Our prayer is for grace enough for each day, and complete healing for our sweet little boy. We know that you are praying these same things with us, and it is a huge blessing to us!