Quarantined

Elliott continues his penchant for making the first few weeks after birth challenging times.  He did it with his, and now he has made the first few days of Ian's life interesting.  I mentioned that Elliott had been troubled for some time by cold-like symptoms, mainly a nagging cough.  We had taken him to the doctor a couple of weeks ago and at that time he was put on an antibiotic, which didn't do the trick.  We took him back to the doctor on Monday and he was diagnosed with the following, in no particular order: Pink Eye, an early ear infection, bronchitis and a sinus infection.  The doctor said they may not all be related.  I'm not sure if it is more difficult to whip four separate illnesses or one that looks like four, so I didn't give that part of the diagnosis much thought.  I did however listen closely when he said it is all HIGHLY contagious and he should not be near a baby.

So on Monday afternoon, Katie and Ian left for grandma and grandpa's house while Elliott and I quarantined ourselves here, where we remain today.  It is not like we're living in a bubble, but it is like a dad trying to take care of a sick boy who has no desire for any of the treatments - eye drops three times a day that are hard to drop through eyelids that are bolted shut, breathing treatments with a nebulizer three times a day and an oral medicine twice a day that he tries to spit further each time I give it to him (the current record is the distance between his mouth and my shirt).

Katie continues to have soreness from her delivery, but is slowly getting better.  And the star of the show, Ian, as far as he is concerned the world outside is a much cozier place to take a nap.  Reading about this ordeal years from now may cause him to lose more sleep than our circumstances have cost him this week.  We are very grateful to have family around us to help us through the tough times.  And tough is relative.  When you read about the families facing the loss of their children to school collapses in Haiti, we aren't really having a tough time.  We pray that God will look after those families and we thank him that he has made all the provisions we need in ours to keep trucking along.