The NOT So Fun Easter Surprise...

On Easter Sunday, we found out-in a not so fun way-that our little guy has Asthma. All morning he was wheezing and coughing-very lethargic. About six months ago we found out that my mom's cats cause these types of reactions and got an inhaler from the doctor to prevent it.

My mom sends the cats to stay with my sisters when we come to visit-but even that did not help this time.(note: if anyone is interested in 2 wonderful cats-my mom is now looking for a good home for them) After taking a nap, he was doing even worse-straining his neck to get air. My sister and I headed to the Insta-Care in Draper UT-where the doctor was very concerned-they immediately put him on oxygen and started giving him breathing treatments....as soon as they started the first treatment, it was like Tavin all the sudden woke up from a deep sleep-"Hi mommy, where is Katie at?" at that moment I realized how close I was to losing my precious Tavin boy-he wasn't getting enough oxygen in his system to know what was going on until they started giving him oxygen treatments! How scary for a mom-I was on the verge of tears-and stayed that way for the next 24 hours as he got steroid shots and oral medicine, breathing treatment after breathing treatment...finally we were admitted to the Primary Children's Hospital for 2 nights and three days. I lay next to Tavin in his hospital bed as he clung to me crying and I wished I could take it all away...trade places with him-cause I would do it in a second for this special little boy.

At a class that we attended we found out that Asthma is considered a disease and Tavin will have it for the rest of his life. We will need to get him tested for other triggers so that we can be aware of what to avoid. He will have to take treatments before hand to prevent attacks when we know we will be in the presence of these triggers. We now have what is called a chamber as well as steroids to give him. There are 5 warning signs or conditions that occur from not critical to critical during an asthma attack and Tavin was in the last stage. I hope we will never get there again.

A note about the hospital: What a wonderful place, Our family will always donate money to the Primary Children's Hospital after witnessing what the nurses and doctors do for the children and parents there-they go above and beyond what they are paid to do! As a mother-it gave me a sense of comfort to know that my child is in such good hands. The pictures above are of the children's play room-a place where children can go to forget their pain and suffering for just a little while and be a kid again. I was humbled by the things that I saw....a bald boy-a cancer patient-hooked to his I.V. stand-in just his gown-sitting at a grand piano in the lobby-playing so beautifully-playing his cares away-I could see that his music gave him the strength he needed to face what was ahead....a tiny infant-younger than Katie-laying in a crib-with multiple tubes
and cords protruding from his body....dozens of "In memory of" plaques of children who's journey has ended. What stands out the most in my mind is a mural of Jesus blessing the children one by one-each being just as important as the next. I know he is present in that hospital-watching over the families and children who are there.

A special thank you to my family for all their love and support. My mom and dad were at the hospital with us each day-taking Tavin for rides in the wagon up and down the hall-and pushing his oxygen tank around the play room so he could get out of bed for a little while-bringing him chocolate chip muffins to con him into eating (note: he wouldn't eat but you better believe he downed the chocolate milk one carton after the other) and helping with Katie so I could cuddle with my boy.

Tell your kids and family you love them as much as you can-cause who knows what tomorrow will bring. They are what matters in this life and will be what matters in the next! I hope I never forget that.

Our boy is now back at home and much much more himself. Today we played multiple games of "Ring Around the Rosie" and baseball. He even started to pick at solid food again-as long as I promise he can have chocolate milk with it:)