Near Miss

Bouncing from terror and devastation to relief and exhaustion, we spent the better part of Saturday at the emergency department, prepared for at least one over-night stay. Bo was inconsolable Friday night and I was finally convinced that he was passing a second kidney stone. He was in agony; much worse than the first stone even though that thing was 3x bigger, at least it was round.

I prayed. I cried. I tried not to hear his screaming and whimpering. My feet were searing hot with panic. I was exhausted, but only experiencing a fraction of the discomfort of this poor little baby.
I was so out of my mind in the week working up to this night, as Bo had not been able to keep anything down, and was gagging and retching each night. I threatened to get rid of Murray cat, that's how insane I was getting.

We found an arrowhead shaped stone in his morning diaper. I thought that would be the end of his discomfort, but he spiked a fever, who knows why, and it was off to emergency.

It is no secret that parents of special needs kids suffer a much higher rate of: divorce, depression, and substance abuse. All I wanted upon our return home was a stiff drink. Especially since the ultrasound showed at least one more stone he will have to pass. February has been pretty rough for Bo. Jose and I have had our share of sleepless nights, but it is not hard to remind myself that he is the one in pain. I'm just relieved we haven't had to stay at the hospital and expose him to all the MRSA, flu and infectious diseases floating around this time of year.

He slept 13 hours straight last night, had a 2.5 hour morning nap, and is currently 1.5 hours into an afternoon nap. Hopefully all this sleep will help him recover from a thoroughly exhausting week. And while I am grateful to avoid being in-patient so far for the month of February, passing two stones in one month is hardly what I consider a break.