Jane, stop this crazy thing!

This is what I've been thinking off and on for the past few days. Life has been a crazy, crazy ride lately. We spent Labor Day weekend running around, looking at potential cars. Learned that there are some good dealerships nearby and some really scary ones we will forever avoid (Jay Lee Honda on McLoughlin, for those in the Portland area). Finally ended up with a brand new to us 2006 Subaru Outback, which we all love.

Tuesday morning the boys went back to school. They were both so excited and grinning from ear to ear when we got there. Arden couldn't wait to finally have lunch at school, and Ryan was happy there were kids he knew in class this year. Both came home with lots to share. Meanwhile, I ran around like crazy doing errand after errand since I had time sans children. Ditto on day two for all of us - many smiles, much busyness on my part, fresh start of school feeling all around.

Then came dinner. Arden ate just a tiny bit of cereal and milk, then suddenly looked pale, said "I feel full" and vomited all over the floor in an enormous gush. This went on for hours, until finally we were able to get him to bed. But the vomiting continued and he wasn't even really waking up - he'd start retching while on his back and not move at all, which really scared Dan and me. Around 11:30 I called the nurse line and they told me to take him to the ER, which I was pretty much expecting at that point. He just didn't seem right at all in any way.

I'll fast forward through a lot here. Diarrhea added to the mix at midnight. Older nurse who stuck him three times trying to get an IV in and actually had the gall to get mad at him for it. Around 3:00 am on Thursday were were told that Arden had appendicitis and that he needed to go to the local children's hospital. Quick ambulance trip and we were there. Fever started a few hours later. Surgery later that morning. Bad, bad reaction to the Versed they gave him before the surgery. He shook and clenched his whole body while grunting like an animal and looking terrified for over an hour :-( Still vomiting and some diarrhea that day and even small sips of water came right back up. They think he had a virus or bug on top of the appendicitis. Friday consisted of trying to get him to try clear liquids and hopefully get him out of bed. He managed a few saltines and some soda and a trip to the play room. More throwing up, but less. By Saturday he was ready to come home, and by 1:00 he was here. He's eaten a tiny bit since then - two bottles of Ensure, an animal cracker, and a quarter piece of toast - but ultimately none of it has stayed down.

Arden looks like a little old man right now. He has no strength and has lost weight that he didn't have to lose. I called in to the doctor on call and the thought now is that his reflux was untreated since Wednesday and that, combined with all the vomiting, means everything is irritated and raw right now so nothing is staying down long. So we're trying to keep a bit of food in his stomach and get his reflux medication down as well.

I keep seeing Arden bouncing and jumping on Tuesday morning and hoping I see that little guy again very soon. We're seeing small flashes - a smile or a laugh here and there -so things are slowly getting better.

Once he's feeling fine, can I please ask the world to slow down for a moment so I can catch my breath?