Lucy's Trip to the Hospital

 

As previously blogged about, Lucy had a rough couple of days over Christmas vacation. She got a stomach bug over the holiday and her HSP really flared up as a result. After multiple days of throwing up and intense stomach cramps we decided that enough was enough and we took our little peanut to the doctor in Fargo. We did our best to explain her diagnosis, provide all of her previous lab values, etc. (Thank goodness for electronic health records! :) Since getting sick, Lucy has been seen at 4 different health care systems with 3 different health records. Ai yi yi. Good thing that mama can look up all of her lab work).

The provider at the Sanford Clinic in Fargo was mostly concerned about intussusception which is a potential complication of Henoch Schonlein Purpura. Intussusception is a potentially life threatening condition where the intestine collapses/telescopes on top of itself. Lucy was having a lot of cramping and complaining of stomach pain so they wanted to rule it out. She had an ultrasound (she actually fell asleep on the on exam table in the middle of the procedure), she had some abdominal xrays, and a lot of labs before we had another discussion with the doctor.

When we all sat together to discuss the findings and next steps, the doctor said that he was going to admit Lucy to the hospital. Our hearts just sank! I thought that Lucy would likely just be treated with some IV fluids, maybe have a few labs and then we be on our way. Unfortunately Lucy's situation was complex. The doctor said, 'I know that you are a long way from home and I just don't want to set you up to fail. We don't want to send her away without knowing that she is able to drink, eat, etc. Intussusception is not something that you want to mess with.'

So we hopped in our truck and headed to the hospital to have our little girl admitted. It was a short drive and we tried to connect with as many family members as we could along the way. When we arrived Lucy promptly threw up again ... we got her changed into a hospital gown and waited to be taken to the procedure room for labs/IV insertion. It is amazing how thoughtful these pediatric units are ... all kinds of distractions and ipad games for Lucy to look at while she got more pokies.

Our sick Lucy Bear holding her Daddy's hand -

 

After labs and IV placement we headed to Radiology for a Barium Enema, they wanted to get a good look at her intestine and make sure that all was well. The doctor said that, for babies and children, having a barium enema can also fix the intussusception. It turns out that Lucy's intestines were good to go - she was such a trooper. I know that it was a super uncomfortable procedure and she handled it really well. The radiologist and his staff said that Lucy cried less than the average 40 year old man who has the same procedure. Haha! :) She was so brave!

Because she was such a brave girl - some very kind hospital staff gave her a Christmas puppy, a Barbie, and an American Girl doll. Lucy was exhausted but pretty happy about her new toys. Here is our sweetheart sharing her  hospital bed with her friends. :)

 

A shout out to Brad for bringing my food, toothbrush, and sweatpants to the hospital, thanks to Nola for packing me a dinner, and a huge thanks to Ken, Nola, and Brad for watching Roman and Ranger while we were at the clinic and hospital! After Brad dropped off our things and took Daniel back to the ranch. Lucy and I snuggled in for the night and watched some Minions. :)

 

 

After a long night with many bathroom breaks - Lucy's bolus of IV fluids were definitely working their way through her system - she woke up and was a brand new kid. She was actually excited to eat breakfast!

 

 

She was ready to hop out of bed.

 

 

We had a special visitor - Grandma Nola!! Lucy was happy to read books with Grammy

 

 

Grandma brought Lucy a balloon!

 

 

After breakfast and story time - Lucy was even ready to head over to the play room! Daniel came back to the hospital around lunch time; we needed to talk with the doctor at noon before Lucy was discharged. In addition to her IV fluids, Lucy was started on steroids while she was in the hospital. The doctor said that her Sed Rate was high, basically the combo of the stomach bug and HSP created some serious inflammation again and that Lucy had colitis. He said that the best way to get things calmed down again was to put Lucy on steroids for the next 5 days. That is exactly what we did. The Prednisone was like a wonder drug for her. She felt better right away and no longer complained about tummy cramps! We are so grateful that she is feeling better! 

 

It is no secret that this has been a challenging couple of months for our Lucy Bear and our family! I feel like I have always grateful for the good health of my children but this whole experience with Lucy has really put things in perspective. So very thankful for every single day that the kids are well!!  

Christmas Part 2 - Fargo!

 

We left for Fargo on the morning of Dan's 36th Birthday!

We had lots of family time and celebrations to partake in with the Storm family. :)

Once we arrived up North, the kids were excited to get out of the truck and stretch their legs. They quickly found all of their favorite toys at Grandma and Grandpa's house! Roman had a great time on Daddy's childhood horse.

 

 

Lucy went straight for the dress up toys. Here is our peanut wearing Spiderman/Superman gear.

 

They snuggled with the pups. Romy loves cuddling with Haley - the grandma dog. :) 

 

We had a delicious supper of stroganoff and Dan / the kids blew out candles on his birthday cake. Thanks for the delicious cake, Amelia!

 

 

Then Daniel opened presents!

 

It was a really fun evening until Lucy got sick again...insert giant frowny face here!

 

This poor girl just could not stop throwing up and was a hot mess - she had severe abdominal pain, vomiting, and cramping so we decided that we needed to take her to the doctor in Fargo. Spoiler alert - it turns out that her stomach bug caused her HSP to flare up again in a major way. Much more on that saga in an upcoming post.

 

 

Lucy ended up being hospitalized for a day but we made our triumphant return back to Grandma and Grandpa's house on New Years Eve - just in time to celebrate the end of 2015. We are praying that 2016 with be a healthy year for our family!

 

On New Years Day we had our family Christmas celebration. We had a wonderful day. We had a delicious meal - here is Dan carving the ham. :)

 

 

We opened gifts. Lucy and Roman were so excited to get stick horses from their Uncle Brad. The horses are awesome and they even make neighing and galloping sounds.

To top it off - Grandma Nola and Grandpa Ken provided the cowboy and cowgirl getup. How fun!!

 

Unfortunately we didn't get a good, full Storm family pic this year! After Lucy came back from the hospital, she shared her flu with others -- both Uncle Brad and Grandpa Storm got sick. :(

 

With all of the illness floating around, we just didn't get it together to take a good photo. Next year!!

 

 

We were able to play outside on the river banks near Grandma Nola and Grandpa Storms house. Yay!

 

Grammy sledded with Roman.

 

On Saturday we headed to the legit sledding hill at the park. :) The kids had so much fun!!  Super grateful that Lucy was feeling good enough to venture out.

 

Thank you so much to the Storm family! What fun to spend time with you and celebrate the season together! Thanks for supporting us in sickness and in health! Happy New Year!

Christmas Part 1 - South Dakota!

 

We were so excited to head out for our annual Christmas vacation in the Dakotas this year! For the first leg of the trip we drove to Roseville and stayed at Auntie Amelia and Uncle Brian's house. The kids were happy to put on their Christmas jammies and watch Finding Nemo. The adults were happy to have a break from driving and enjoy some ethnic food. Haha! :) The next day Lucy and Roman pulled on their holiday shirts and we drove the rest of the way to Sioux Falls.

 

A Christmas miracle occurred and both of the kids took a nap on the way to Sioux Falls!

 

 

After we arrived at Grandma Sharon and Grandpa Glen's house, the kids quickly started playing with their cousins while mom and dad did a little last minute holiday shopping. :)

 

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve, we went to church, snapped a few family pics -

 

 

And had a fabulous lasagna for dinner! 

 

 

After our meal we headed to the beautiful Sioux Falls for an evening walk. The light show was great and the kids loved the music.

 

 

We had a great time downtown!

 

 

When we returned home, it was time to open a few gifts! Roman was excited to get a Jake and the Pirates telescope and head scarf.

 

Romy loves superheroes these days - Batman and Superman were a big hit.

 

 

Grammy and Grandpa read the kids Christmas stories before bed.

 

 

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care!

 

 

The children were so excited to wake up early on Christmas morning to open their stockings!

 

 

We spent much of the day at Austin and Mallory's house. Somehow the only pics that I snapped were of our glam girls wearing their play earrings.

 

 

Also this gem -- cousin Paul and Roman totally jamming out to a dance game, they were rocking to Living La Vida Loca by Ricky Martin. Haha!

 

 

On Saturday we were supposed to go to Mitchell to attend the extended Storm family Christmas celebration. Unfortunately it was cancelled due to the weather so we had a snow day instead.

 

 

The children had a great time in the snow.

 

 

We had a lot of fun sledding.

 

 

Lucy loves to make snow angels.

 

 

I just love these pictures of Ranger. They remind me so much of Chief! Chiefy just loved playing in the snow. Nothing better than a snow dog! :) 

 

 

We spent the rest of the day doing puzzles with Grandpa.

 

 

 

And playing piano with Grammy. :)

 

 

 On Sunday we had our Hoekman family Christmas celebration with the whole family. It is so much fun to play with this big pack of cousins!

 

We enjoyed lots of family time

 

And had a delicious feast!

 

 

The oldest cousin with our newest addition! So cute.

 

 Before we opened gifts, the kids performed a play of the Christmas story. Here is Paul as Joseph and a shepherd and Romy as Santa.

 

The girls were angels.

 

Esther thoughtfully watched the festivities. :)

 

 

 

Here is the whole crew! I am so glad that we got this nice picture because, shortly after the photo shoot, the festivities were interrupted by Roman throwing up. Followed shortly by Lucy. Ugh.

Puke-fest ensued. Not only did the cousins share gifts but also their germs apparently. :(

 

 

After ~12 hours of sickness, things seemed to be on the mend for the Storm kids. We were planning to head up to Fargo on Monday but decided to stay behind an extra day as the kids (and adults!) rested and recovered.

 

We celebrated Daniel's birthday a little bit early. Here is our newly minted 36 year old with his 2 little peanuts. :)  

 

The Storm fam - first thing in the morning!!

 

 

Big thanks to the Hoekman Family for the wonderful holiday. Merry Christmas!