Eli's Trip to the Hospital

Elias had been sick for a few weeks, but on Wednesday, his breathing suddenly became much more labored, congested and wheezy. So we took him to the ER, where they put him on oxygen and tried for a long time to get an IV into him, with no success. They told us he would have to be admitted into the children's hospital. So, Eli and I rode there in the ambulance, with Ben following behind. By this time, Eli was very weak, exhausted, and dehydrated. Before we could all go to sleep they tried again to give him an IV, but they could not get his vein. We lost count of the times they poked him. It was the saddest thing. Eli was too weak to cry, so he just whimpered.

The amazing thing is, even though he was being tortured, and felt horrible, Eli still smiled at us. A weak smile, but a smile nonetheless. His strong spirit really impressed me. The nurses even gave him a blanket that says "Daddy's Champ" on it, for being such a strong little guy.

They were finally able to get the IV in his ankle the next morning. After that first traumatic night, the rest of the hospital stay was just a cycle of respiratory therapy, hydration, and sleep. Eli steadily recovered and by Saturday he was smiling and playing. The nurses and respiratory therapists were impressed with how quickly he recovered. They also told us he was the strongest little 5-month-old they'd ever met.

Saturday evening, we finally got to go home. His doctor did not give him a clean bill of health, however. We are doing CPT (chest percussion therapy), breathing treatments, and giving him several prescriptions. But we are incredibly grateful that he is well enough to come home. Truly, we felt the prayers of our families and friends helping Eli and us. We also received many, many visits and phone calls from friends and family. Thank you for the support! It meant so much to us.

Those open hospital gowns are sure cute... but only on babies and definitely not on grown-ups.