I woke up this morning feeling like I got hit by a truck. So I can’t even begin to imagine how Stevie feels. This poor kid.

His sickies started on Thursday night with a mild case of the runs. Hey, it happens to the best of us. So I started him on the BRAT diet and expected it to be done within 24-48 hours. But then his stomach problems started getting worse. And by Sunday, he couldn’t sleep or eat. He screamed his lungs out from 3am to 6am, before we finally got him to rest.

I had to go straight to work at 7am, and just as I was dragging my tired self out the door, I heard him crying again. So I took him to the bathroom one more time, and there was quite a bit of blood in his diaper. That woke me up real quick!

After paging his pediatrician, she urged us to take him to the ER, which we did immediately. I got in touch with my clients to reschedule and we rolled out to our usual stomping grounds at CHLA.

I was impressed with the packing skills we’ve developed over the years. 10 minutes flat to gather the necessities. Gearing up mentally for a hospital visit is a whole other thing though.  Especially on no sleep and constant crying in your ear. You know it’s always going to take forever no matter what. You know it’s probably going to turn out there’s nothing they can do. But obviously you can’t risk it. You have to go. Not without a few snippy remarks to your also tired significant other though. And multiple cups of coffee. Like NOW.

We were right, that the visit took forever, and there was nothing they could really do for him there. But they ran some tests to rule out anything major and determined that it’s most likely a severe gastrointestinal infection. We can give him Tylenol for pain, were instructed to keep him hydrated, and got sent home 8 hours later to recoup at home.

I wish I could say he was all better after that! But no such luck. He was up last night every hour on the hour to expel more bodily fluids (shudder) and he’s been crying and miserable all day. No appetite either. It’s hard even to get him to drink anything. He doesn’t want to be held or put down. It’s just a mess. And even with all that Stevie has been through in his few years on earth, I can’t remember ever seeing him so sick. It’s an impossible feeling to know there’s nothing we can do to fix it.I’m going heavy on the essential oils today and just praying for some relief! (Which partially came in the form of a delivered lunch from a friend today! So much appreciated!) I’m grateful for all the supportive texts and messages from friends and family too. It just helps me feel better knowing so many people care about our well-being.

If you are so inclined please send healing thoughts Stevie’s way. It’s time for him to get better. His little body is just going through too much.

*UPDATE:  The lab tests they took at the hospital revealed that Stevie has E Coli.  He has a strain of it that is not treatable with medication, so we have to just monitor him for other worsening symptoms to prevent anything more serious.  The illness can last up to 10 or 12 days, but I’m hoping with all my heart it doesn’t go on that long.  His little body is so tired already, and we are only on day 4.  We are grateful to have a diagnosis, although not what we expected!  I’ll keep everyone posted on any major changes.