Ahhhhhh...To Sleep Again...

...

We are home.

Being in the hospital during Shabbat isn't easy. There are all sorts of issues to face and make decisions about. Do we light candles? Do we ask if we are allowed to? Do we just do it? What about phone and TV? What if we are hungry in the middle of the night--should we spend money?

We lit the candles, Aliyah and I. Before Shabbat. Secretly. In Neviyah's room. I had already spoken briefly with my rabbi about how to accomplish this. Rob came in after us and blew them out. Eighteen minutes later Shabbat started. But two seconds after Rob blew them out, the nurse and her assistant came in. Rob and I kept glancing at each other. Did they smell the extinguished candles? Were we busted? They must have smelled it but did not mention it.
*whew*


We left the TV on an acceptable channel and turned the volume down. We decided to answer the phone but not make calls out. We decided not to spend money. And again, we went with Kosher meals. The Kosher meals issue at St. Something hospital deserves an entry on its own and I know the reason you are here now is to get the update on Neviyah. Kosher-meal-drama-story some other time.

Neviyah was a trooper. She stayed sweet and lovable practically the whole time. She responded well to the long acting antibiotic. She did get a wicked case of diarrhea but the IV and frequent breast feedings kept her hydrated. The latter part of the evening and into today she had no fever. Her cultured urine revealed e.coli as the bacteria and they believe it most likely migrated from her kidneys.

We were up every hour or so the whole night due to soaked diapers. We felt we had brought enough cloth diapers but with her going every hour-ish, I ran out in the early a.m. At some point, probably around 4 a.m., I wheeled Neviyah's IV contraption to my makeshift couch-bed and we co-slept. We both got in a two-hour sleep and it was well needed by me! No sleep and no food = scary-Kimber!

In the afternoon, we were able to try to give Neviyah an oral dose of the antibiotic the doctor chose to best address e. coli. I have never heard of it and cannot recall at this moment what it is called. Neviyah kept it down and some two hours later, we were on our way home. Woo hoo!

Of course, we came home to a messy house. Thankfully my mom came over and helped us get a handle on things. Neviyah and I took a much needed four hour nap. Nevi woke up refreshed and I woke up feeling like I had been run over by a mack truck! Go figure.

Thanks for all the good wishes and to Avi for offering kosher, non-meat meals (if I had checked my mail before Shabbat I would have probably taken you up on that!), the Friedmans' (Heidi, Barry and Nancy) for the good wishes, Pauli for offering to help with Aliyah, Rav Rose for your continued kindness and concern, my mommy for always helping us out and being a presence for us, and to everyone else who dropped us a note and sent prayers and good thoughts. Neviyah is just fine. We still will have to have the additional testing once the infection is gone but that is alomst two weeks out and we will deal with that then.

Now...can we get back to normal already?

...

Comments

Anonymous said…
So glad to hear that life is returning to nornal, and that Neviyah is responding to the medication. Refuah Sh'leimah!
Mom said…
Yes, Miss Nevi is looking and acting so much better. Prayers do work...along with the medicine!!