A Rough Go

From the end of August up until just the past few weeks, our family has been hit with one thing after another. I don't know if it's all the germs Caleb's been exposed to for the first time at preschool, the traveling we've done, or our trips to the library/church/MOPS/etc., but it seems that every time we've left the house we came home with an unpleasant surprise. Even staying quarantined due to illness for the most part, somehow we still were collecting germs. (Maybe from the pediatrician's office, who knows?) No exaggeration, I don't think our whole family was healthy more than a day or two at a time for four months solid!

The story doesn't stop there though. Hallelujah! For about two and a half weeks, everyone has finally been healed, and I am so grateful for God's grace in getting us back on our feet. I don't think I have every appreciated good health as much as I have lately.

Even in the midst of all that sickness though, God was with us, providing daily just what or who we need to stay afloat. That said, this post is just to show a little of what an awesome, sovereign Lord we serve as I have example after example that demonstrates how He upheld us. It is a long post, but an awesome testimony with the best parts highlighted below!

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September and October were filled with one cold after another, and we're hoping to be on the mend by the beginning of November for our trip to Illinois. As the days to our flight approached, Reid ended up with an ear infection and Hadley still had a pretty bad cough, but God worked it out that everyone was just well enough for us to travel and off we went.

We had a great trip, but when we came back, that's when the real problems began. Whether it was from the airport or the children's museums we toured, we aren't sure, but somewhere the kids picked up a terrible stomach bug. Caleb was the first to go down; then it worked its way through our entire family. (Caleb actually got it twice.)

Dave had a huge project he was working on for his job that required a lot of extra time, especially after the vacation we'd just taken and we were struggling to try to keep up. Being up half the night with the kids and trying to get the mounds of laundry caught up before we were buried was a feat, but thankfully Dave and I were holding on as the virus worked its way through the kids. Until...it finally hit me. My mom had hurt her ribs pretty badly on our trip and couldn't come help, but God gave me Granny who was able to stay with the kids until Dave got home.

I ended up having to be hospitalized due to dehydration and my grandparents came to drive me so Dave could tend the little ones, but right as I was about to leave the bug hit him too. It is in moments like these when you are completely helpless that you see how the Father works it all out. My grandparents came back to pick up Hadley, Mom got Caleb from school, and Granny ended up with Reid. It seemed a mess at the time, but lots of blessings resulted. Not only did we get a much needed break to recuperate (even if it was in a hospital bed), Hadley and Grandma gained a special little bond during that time; Caleb got time with his NaNa; and though Reid was used to nursing, he did great being away from me, which helped give me rest and keep me from becoming even more dehydrated. It was also my youngest's first night ever without his parents, meaning we hit another milestone and with that a little more freedom for all of us.

Even after coming home from the hospital though, I was struggling to get rid of the nausea and regain my strength, but my family worked together and by Thanksgiving I much better. It was right after that that I wrote a blog post on the meaning of thankful living and my goal to try to live with more gratitude and less complaining. I had no idea how much my heart would be tested in this area in the days to come.

After that, Dave continued to work ridiculously long days to meet his deadline and Hadley had another bout with a stomach bug, so we were still feeling overwhelmed as November came to a close. Sadly, things didn't let up though; we got kicked while we were down as the first week in December brought even tougher struggles. However, it was also at this time when we started seeing God work in only ways He can - miracles!

Dec. 4th - I took Caleb to the pediatrician in the afternoon because he kept complaining his neck didn't feel good and that he felt like he might be sick on his stomach. Monday he'd also been complaining that if felt like something like ice was stuck in there. The doctor didn't find anything, but since he commonly complains that his neck doesn't feel well, she ordered an upper GI test to see if we could figure it out.

That night Reid woke up from a late nap around 7 p.m. gasping to breathe and with a barking cough. Afraid to put him back to bed and suspecting croup, we took him to the ER where he was diagnosed with bronchitis, a red throat, and double ear infections as well as treated with an oral steroid for croup.

Dec. 5th - Hadley's stomach bug seemed to have turned into a cold. Her poor little eyes were especially full of it and I was concerned it might be pink eye, so back to the pediatrician's office we went - only this time to see different doctor. She was diagnosed with bronchitis too and we headed to Rite Aid to fill another script.

I was feeling so exhausted when we got back that I called Dave to see if he could please come home early, but due to his work load, he just couldn't. Being completely at the end of myself, I sat on the couch wondering how in the world I was going to get supper together, especially since I hadn't been able to go to the grocery store. I kid you not, not five minutes later, a message from my friend Beth from MOPS popped up on Facebook saying that our mutual friend Nicki would be bringing us dinner later and that she herself would bring us a meal the following night...I cried!...I'm not sure I'd even uttered a prayer, but He'd answered what was in my heart nonetheless.

Later that evening, Dave's parents called to let him know that his mom had decided to decline further chemo treatments or dialysis and was being placed in hospice care. With work so intense, he didn't have much time to take off to drive to the Midwest, but we knew that airline flights had been outrageous lately and our budget was tight. I could see how stressed Dave was over the decision and told him to let me just look at flights to see if maybe I could find a deal. There is ABSOLUTELY no doubt in my mind that God wasn't with us in that instant as I began searching and came across a direct flight to St. Louis the next day for $95! You just don't find flights that cheap, especially at the last minute!

Dec. 6-10th - As soon as word spread to the other MOPS mom's about what were were facing physically and emotionally, more people signed up to bring meals. We could hardly fit all the food they brought in the fridge!

My mom helped so much too by spending the evenings with me and helping me stay on top of the household chores. It's always good to have an extra set of hands to love on the kids when they are feeling so poorly, and I really appreciated having her there to ask advice when I wasn't sure what to do to help them. (Another trip to the doctor? Should I keep up with the meds? I trust her advice even above the pediatrician!) It is scary to have kids who are as sick as mine were and it was a blessing to have her reassurance.

He went through 3-4 boxes in just one day!

This is really how bad it was. They were miserable.

My friend Melanie came a couple days to help with the kids and Beth and Nicki came for a few hours to help me too so I could go to the grocery store, the pharmacy, or do other necessary errands. It was just beyond me that these women were risking their health and that of their families to be there to help me! And they aren't the kind that are like "What do you need help with?" and wait for me to figure it out. They just show up and get the job done, taking care of things before I can even think of them!

(Note: The night Beth came, my credit card wouldn't work at the grocery store and I had to put a ton of stuff back, but even in that I felt God blessing me with the lesson to be thankful because at least I knew that we could fix the problem. At least there was money in the bank. At least I had enough cash to get the important items. It gave me a deeper sensitivity for those who didn't, especially that time of year.)

My friends Bobby and Melanie took time to pray WITH me as well which was such a blessing that week. Bobby even shared some encouraging Scripture out of Daniel about how God sent an answer as soon as Daniel began to pray. We talked about the attack that seemed to be on our family and the spiritual warfare going around about us and just did what we could - lifting it up to God. 

Thursday, Dec. 11 - I came down with a touch of what the kids had and Dave planned to go in late so I could sleep in a little. Even in my sickness though, I know God had a plan. About mid morning, Dave's dad called to say that Shirley had passed. I'm so thankful he was home with us to receive the news and begin planning.

While we were still trying to figure out what to do next, my friend Nicki messaged me that her mother-in-law, who we've never met, wanted to do something to help us after hearing about all that we'd been dealing with. She gave Nicki money to buy us groceries and the next thing I knew my friend was on my porch with all kinds of food to restock our fridge. I was shocked, but it really shouldn't have been a surprise because so many people had told me: "God placed you on my heart." Oh, how the Spirit works!

Not long after, I took Caleb and Hadley to Granny's for a while so we could figure out plans while Reid napped and I could begin writing the obituary, just looking for something tangible to do since we were so far away.

One of my MOPS friends (Brenda) had dropped a meal by that just need to be popped in the oven so Dave did that while I was out - only to find an hour and a half later that our heating element wasn't working. Thankfully, though we hadn't done much grocery shopping, we had a few microwaveable meals in our freezer from the groceries Nicki dropped by earlier in the day. (God's provision! There is no other way to describe it!) Dave put the other meal in the crockpot which worked out great for lunch the next day before he left for IL, so once again we were blessed.

Friday, Dec. 12 - I'd been communicating with our church family all that had been happening and they'd been praying too - not sure what else to do to help us but waiting for us to tell them something - anything - that they could do to jump in and lighten our load. 

I was so glad we had them as a resource too at that point! Becki (the pastor's wife) dropped by to pick up something I needed delivered that morning. Then, Sherl (the pastor) came over to see what he could do about our oven to help take something off our plate. The next thing I know he had a plan to take our oven out to get it fixed and brings us a brand new oven from the apartment in his basement to use in the meantime. He also brought us a "gift" from the church to help take care of the airline ticket Dave would need.

Later, their daughter Emilee even came to our rescue when the touch of sickness I had the day before turned into chills and aches all over that sent me straight to bed right about the time Dave had to leave for his flight. She jumped in with little instruction and tended my little ones like a pro until my mom arrived to spend the night a couple hours later.

My friend Rhonda, who loves to coupon, also dropped by with supper, a huge basket, and several bags over groceries and other goodies she'd collected for us. (These MOPS sisters in Christ are just too much!)

Saturday, Dec. 13 - Knowing how sick I was and that Dave was gone, the ladies from the church organized themselves to make sure that I was covered with help the next day. Carolyn showed up around lunch time and then Nancy, helping with the kids and giving me companionship. Then, Becki came over with supper, followed by Amber, who volunteered to come clean and tackled my bathrooms, and CJ who helped with supper clean up and vacuumed. They were awesome! I'm so glad God put me in their hearts because it really did a lot to have the fellowship and to feel like my house was more under control.

Sunday, Dec. 14 - Things started to look up a bit. Hadley got the special treat of going to church with NaNa the next day and watching their Christmas play. The boys and I didn't end up making it though because I just couldn't get things together and Reid needed to nap pretty badly anyway. That evening, we rested up and got ourselves together enough to head to the annual Alger family Christmas party which I always look forward to. I debated not going since the kids were sick, but they'd been on antibiotics long enough I thought it was safe. I also considered staying put because Dave wasn't there to help, but several people volunteered to help if we came and in the end it worked out well. I was thrilled to be out of the house!

Monday, Dec. 15 - I had to drive to Baltimore for an appointment with my rheumatologist so once again I had split up the kids between my grandparents and Mom was able to ride with me. Granny kept the boys and Grandma watched Hadley. It wasn't the smoothest trip we've ever made - we ended up getting stuck for an hour in road construction and missed the original appointment time after being in the car for somewhere around 4 hrs, but God worked it out and they still saw me even that late! I was very thankful not to have to make the trip again.

Tuesday, Dec. 16 - I tried to take Caleb to school but right as we were about to leave he started complaining he felt nauseous again. Thinking he was faking since he'd been fine for days, I put him in the car and we went any way but he adamantly refused to get out of the car, crying and rebuckling his car seat so I took him home and sent him to back to bed. I wasn't sure if I was ever going to get him back.

Thursday, Dec. 18 - Granny and I took the kids back to the doctor for a check up mid afternoon after Caleb got out of school. Expecting to be scolded for not using the steroid inhaler as recommended, I wondered if she would have a better option to help with the kids' coughing that still was pretty bad, especially Caleb's. While I'd been worried about my eldest son, to my surprise, I found out that Hadley, who seemed the healthiest of the three, still had terrible ear infections as did Reid to a slightly lesser degree. She debated between another round of antibiotics or just injecting them with antibiotics directly, hating to do so because they so painful. Finally, she decided on the first option and told me to come back if they weren't better by Monday. She also prescribed oral steroids for Reid who's chest sounded awful to her and acid reflux medicine for Caleb. After a long wait and a mix up at the pharmacy, we all finally went home with what we needed and tried this new protocol.

It's so hard to tell when Hadley is really sick because she's almost always in such a happy mood.

In the mix of everything, Dave had come down with a horrible cold or possibly the flu too before leaving for his mother's funeral, and by this point it had progressed so badly that he could barely talk. Somehow he still managed to make his way through his huge presentation with only the strength God can give and all his efforts were received with beaming reviews at work as finally he'd met his deadline. It seems almost impossible that he got through it with all that was happening, but as my mom said, sometimes it is good to have the busyness to distract us from thinking too much about our grief. Additionally, thanks to all the extra hours he'd worked on this project, we didn't have to worry about all the days he'd taken off for sicknesses and travel. Amazingly, in the end we even had a day or two to spare at the end of the year!

Friday, Dec. 19 - I'd had a little cough the day before and was hoping it was nothing but it got worse Friday. Caleb's school was having a special birthday party for Jesus lunch for parents that I didn't want to miss so I tried to hold it together and go. By late afternoon I was feeling awful though and Dave came home early from work to help. 

Sunday, Dec. 21 - Caleb got sick on his stomach from all his congestion in the wee morning hours. Coupled with Reid's poor sleeping we were pretty exhausted and I was still sick with a fever, so we missed church again. The day wasn't a bad one though. The kids made a Gingerbread train with Dave, and my sister came over to help get all my Christmas wrapping done. We even let the little ones open one of their Christmas presents from Dave's family which perked them up. 

Monday, Dec. 22 - My fever was gone by morning but I still felt completely miserable. Dave stayed home to help me get the kids to the pediatrician for their shots since things had not improved and I manage just to ride along. The shots were as awful as predicted and Hadley cried for the full twenty minutes they made us wait afterwards to make sure they didn't have a reaction to the vaccine. Reid must have felt pretty bad too because once again he was up a ton throughout the night!

Tuesday, Dec. 23 - The next day, I had to run my younger two back to the doctor's office for their second round of shots. Since I was feeling better Dave went to work, but thankfully Mom was able to come help me, especially since Hadley was very upset to go back, knowing what was coming. 

After some ibuprofen, we decided to try lunch at Cracker Barrel before going home as a treat to take their mind off their problems, especially since it was so late anyway and it would save me some prep and clean up. While we were there though, Hadley tried to get up from her seat and we found that she could barely walk. Since she had ridden into the restaurant using our stroller I didn't know she was that bad at first, but every time I tried to pick her up or shift her, the poor thing just cried. Reid refused to eat pretty much anything so it wasn't much of a treat being there for him either, and Caleb kept asking to go to the bathroom and then not really having to go. 

On the way home, Caleb's stomach started hurting him terribly. By the time we got home he had a horribly belly ache, so I called the pediatrician once again and made an appt that afternoon. Mom came over to watch the others because there was no way I could take them since they were already so miserable from the shots, and off we went back again. I suspected a UTI or maybe food poisoning, but the doctor thought otherwise and sent us for x-rays of his colon. Urgent Care's x-ray dept was closed when we arrived, so it was off to the hospital but we finally got it done.

Dec. 25 - We thought everyone was healthy Christmas morning, but alas Reid kept up our streak by coming down with the flu - 104.7 temp! Thankfully, though, the doctor was able to give us medicine to help the following day as well as something to help prevent our other two from catching it since this strand apparently wasn't in the vaccine we all received. Though it sounds like it was very contagious, God must have decided we'd had enough and blocked the germs from getting to the rest of us because amazingly no one else got it!

I think the final round of sickness was January 2 when I came down with yet another stomach bug, but since then we've stayed on the mend. Caleb's upper GI came back normal and for now he's doing okay with just a few lingering symptoms we're trying to figure out.

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There is so much more that happened I could write about, but I've already given you way more than you probably wanted to read! I tried to leave out what I could in places; however, I wanted to show the depth of our struggle so that everyone could see just how God worked to sustain us. Even with so much help it was incredibly difficult, and without His mercies that were new every morning, I am not sure how we'd have kept up physically, emotionally, or physically. 

In the Old Testament, God told the Israelites to keep a jar of manna and Aaron's rod that budded with the ark of the covenant in the Holy of Holies - both as a reminder of God's faithfulness and provision. Once in a Sunday School class, our teacher challenged us to think about what things we would choose to put in our "arks" as remembrances of what He has done in our lives to strengthen our faith when we look upon them. I want this blog post to be exactly that - a record of how He carried us, provided for us, and became our strength when we had nothing left. 

I hope this post also encourages others as a testimony of what the Lord can do and strengthens the faith of those who interceded for us who now can see the fruit of those pleas.

There were so many praying for us through it all, and now that the storm has calmed, I hope that you will keep praying, offering up praises for all that He has done.