Sunday, May 20, 2012

Summer Begins

It has gotten progressively warmer all week and was officially hot today. The nights have been cool, and perfect sleeping weather. But we're finally into summer, and I get nervous about that. We can't seem to keep Bo out of the hospital more than a year at a time, and he invariably ends up inpatient in the summers. Which is great, because there are fewer respiratory infections, but is less great, because all the residents are brand-spankin new.

Anyway, I'm hoping we can forgo the annual admission this year. But Bo got completely wilted yesterday from being out in the heat, and today, our outing was a walk around the block. When he gets too hot, he will get dehydrated enough to become nauseous and vomit. He gets frighteningly pale and lethargic. And nobody likes that. Thankfully, the fluid bolus we started giving a few months ago has kept his excruciating thirst and dehydration at bay, but it may get hotter yet, this summer.

His biannual visit to the nephrology team in Detroit was great. Two years after stopping the kidney stone medication, he remains stone-free (yay!!). And they are suggesting changes to his TPN that may alleviate some of the thirst issues (too much sodium; it had been jacked up from his last bout of dehydration and never inched down, as his blood levels remained stable, but urine levels started to rise as he recovered, but wasn't getting those scrutinized as frequently). Once the appropriate sodium levels are determined, Bo's remaining thirst (if any) can be addressed by further volume added to his midday bolus.

Since everyone woke up early this morning, we actually made it to the earlier Mass. The play room was open, but there were no scheduled activities, which meant Bo had free reign of the giant toy box. I tried to dump both kids with JVC, but Ahnnie totally melted down, so I took her into Mass with me and she was surprisingly good! Aside from saying "all done" and bolting to the doors right before Communion, she was totally sweet (and silent!).

Summers are so incredibly luscious, here, they really are like vacations. I am feeling completely rested (can I have an amen for date night? We haven't had them in a while due to nursing personnel changes, and boy did I miss them), and even with the trauma of re-carpeting the basement from sewer back-up (entirely our fault forgetting annual roto-rooter), and planning the 5 and 2 year birthdays coming up shortly, I am just so grateful for our friends in deed (Paul!!).

May you experience the Joy and Love infused in this very Life.

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