It's been a week.
And I'm glad it's over!
Tommy went from sitting and playing at a playground in Fairhaven on Sunday, to a struggling and frightened child trying to breathe on Wednesday night.
How does that happen?
Liam came into our bedroom Wednesday night at 2am saying Tommy was coughing and needed help. So when we walked into the twins' room I saw in the darkness Tommy sitting in a tripod stance with the most remarkable stridor and retractions on the inhales and seal like sounds.
I scooped him up with one arm
And headed downstairs and we decided to call for emergency help
Because last time, I drove myself and him to the hospital, he was blue when I got there and seizing
So long ago, Colin and I decided we wouldn't let either of us drive ourselves if he had breathing issues
Because this little guy's lungs will always be compromised
Long story short, got to the hospital at 2:30 and home again by 6am
And Tommy could breathe again after injectable steroids and a nebulizer
And his woody doll for comfort
Hannah has continued to work a strong program in AA and participate on a softball coed team with all sober and hilarious friends from her program. I haven't missed a game.
And while she is finishing her freshman year at Western and seeking summer employment she struggled this last week a lot with her mental health challenges. So therapies and medications happened and we just talked and laughed.
Because it's the realization that we all are fairly broken folks that helps one pick yourself up by your boot straps and keep on walking.
She is fiercely independent and strikingly resourceful
But I needed to remind her that in the end she needs to talk and share and be open. If not to me and her friends, then to her Lord
Somedays, I recognize that eternity will be so much better than this world. And addressing mental health issues in a world that says you should just be fine, is one of those recurring moments for her and I to focus again on eternity.
Liam is loving the increasingly warmer weather and has spent so much time outdoors he is starting to tan! We've addressed some not so good attitudes and word choices that as he is blossoming at school, soccer and church he is starting to acquire, ahem, and we remind him that he is a good kid and doesn't need some of those 'attention getting' words/sayings/actions. Parenting as a verb is well worth it in the end. He is such a gem. I'm creating a summer curriculum for him and Tommy and will share this next week with all of you!
Nate has the worse case of senioritis that I have yet to see. He graduates 6/17. And although he hasn't actually been in a high school setting for two years, he is ready to be done with this. He has taken online classes and Running Start at our local community college. High school education just didn't work for Nate and I'm thankful that there was more of a challenging education for Nate at our local college. He finished his senior "culminating project". This is him presenting to our family for the fifth or so time (but who was counting, lol). We projected his slide show on our tv and he practiced the 15 minute presentation. Some kids did stream restoration, Nate's senior project was on the clean needle exchange for opiate users in Whatcom county, "The Syringe Swap". And his presentation was amazing on the public health issues of dirty needles, mental health and homelessness of IV drug users. Did you know it's a near epidemic in Whatcom County?
Just wanted to show you all how the week ended, with Hannah and I doing crazy photo shoot laughing sessions. Because that's all we need, to laugh at life.
