Midnight Launches & 3 am ER Trips

Well, Discovery finally launched last night at 11:59 pm - might as well say midnight, right? It was a perfect view, too. The launch pad was visible, and the launch went smoothly - with lightning more than 30 nautical miles away. It was beautiful, and Isaiah ecstatic, saying that he could drive the space shuttle because he's a "super driver." =0)

After the launch, we came home and went straight to bed - after all, it was after midnight. I would like to say that was the end of the evening . . . but Isaiah's body had other plans.


At 3 am, Isaiah started squirming around. When I touched him, he was cold - very cold. I checked the blankets to make sure he hadn't kicked them off, but they were right where they were supposed to be. So, I turned on the light, and took one look at Isaiah and knew what was happening. Isaiah is having another episode of anaphylaxis. He made it 7 weeks without an episode; he is still on steroids. This shouldn't be happening, but here we are, again. His lips were blue and swollen, along with his hands and feet, and he was beyond pale - even his eyes were dark and puffy. He wouldn't answer me, but stood up in the middle of the bed and said "doctor" and "shot." Thankfully, I had a green tub from the previous hospital trip under the bed, which I grabbed and held it under Isaiah's head. He vomited and I grabbed the Epi and gave it, called 911 and waited for the ambulance to show up. On the way to the hospital, Isaiah was given a nebulizer treatment because he still wasn't acting quite right. (he was itching in the pic) =0}

At the hospital, they gave him Zofran to calm the nausea and vomiting all the while watching his heart rate bounce around - from 145 to 60 . . . the Epi was working to keep his heart rate up, but his body wanted it to slow down. Isaiah was lethargic, understandably. So, the doctor decided to give him a shot of Benadryl and Decadron (a strong steroid). The combination worked, and 6 hours later, he was allowed to come back home.

I would like to say that he is completely back to himself, but he isn't. He is much better, and has even had a few chattery, bubbly moments today . . . especially concerning Star Wars (the child has never seen Star Wars, yet knows the names of the characters . . .go figure!). He has thrown up one more time this afternoon, and has yet to eat anything - his only request was a bottle of "prite an coke," which of course I obliged. =0)

Isaiah will be on a stronger dose of prednisone for 4 days, which will be decreased to a strong dose for another 4 days, to a mildly strong dose to be taken until we go back to St. Pete for his next appointment. While prednisone and steroids help his body to resist anaphylaxis, if his body wants to anaphylax, it will - regardless of what we pour into it. It's frustrating that he's on so many meds, and yet the anaphylaxis just doesn't stop. It's equally as frustrating to know that without those meds, the anaphylaxis is much worse and would happen more frequently, of course, without God's intervention.

In the midst of all of this, I know that we serve and know a God who can and will heal Isaiah . . . I don't know when, but I know He will. I know God has a purpose for Isaiah - He says so in Jeremiah 29.11. I know that God isn't allowing Isaiah to go through all of this for nothing - his suffering isn't in vain . . . none of our suffering, regardless of what it is, is in vain. God knows why Isaiah is going through this . . . as much as I want to fix it all for Isaiah - I know that, in my human strength and limited knowledge/wisdom, I can't. It's not up to me. I hate that Isaiah is going through this - I hate seeing him turn blue, vomit, have problems breathing, seeing his beautiful face swell, knowing he's in pain. Yet, at the same time, I know God has it all under control - He doesn't like to see Isaiah go through this either! He doesn't take joy in seeing us suffer - it hurts Him when we suffer. There is at least consolation in knowing that.

"Plans to prosper you, not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future." While I may not know the plans for my son, I know God's plans are perfect - and I trust Him for that. There is more comfort in that. It's so easy to look at the negatives in the situation, to remember all the meetings with the doctors and every hospital visit, every time Isaiah has ever had any type of allergic/masto reaction . . . without God, I don't know how anybody could handle it. Without God, there just isn't any hope.

So far, our next appointment with All Children's is in November - our Dr. T has decided to go into immunology full-time (hope we didn't scare him off!), ;0) so we have a new doctor along with the fellow we have had (who thinks Isaiah is just the cutest thing he's ever seen . . . apart from his own daughter, of course). =0)