Our sweet Shonna has been very ill. She and Blake hosted Michelle and Brian's family over New Years and had a great time with them. She was fine: energetic and healthy.
A few days later she got very ill. Her throat and face were so swollen and sore. It was weird. She went to instacare on Wednesday and was diagnosed with strep and put on antibiotics with instructions to come back on Friday if she wasn't better. She wasn't better, but worse on Friday. So they went back. They ran a lot of blood tests and found she did not have strep, but had mononucleosis and viral hepatitis and hypothyroidism. By then, her skin was very yellow, she was always nauseous (she was not eating and not drinking enough so she was dehydrated) her belly very distended, her skin very itchy, a very sore throat, and constant brain fog. Her blood levels were all out of whack. They sent her to the hospital where a Dr. saw her and was baffled by the effects on her liver. After addressing the other issues, including giving her 2 liters of fluid, she said she wasn't sure what to do about the liver. She said she had a friend in Ogden who is a liver specialist and she would call him. He said that the involvement of the liver in mononucleosis is an extremely rare symptom but that he had seen it before. He said it would be okay to send Shonna home where she would not be subjected to the other illnesses and viruses in the hospital. So since then, Shonna has been trying to heal at home. She has been so very sick. She has seen her physician twice since then and done blood tests again and things are slowly improving. For that we are grateful.
It has been sweet to hear how her ward and friends have rallied to help. Hannah has Celiac disease, so Blake has been reluctant to accept the many offers for meals. But one of Shonna's friends said that her mom has Celiac, and she knows how to cook gluten free. Blake gratefully agreed to let her bring a meal. It was delicious and so appreciated. But otherwise, Blake is doing all of the cooking. The kids and Blake work together to do the laundry and cleaning. Shonna arranged with friends who have children going to the same places her kids need to go, to take them. It worked out except no one who lives near them goes to Lily's dance class on Thursday nights. So, Shonna's next-door neighbor said she wanted to do it. She said it sounded wonderful to take Lily then get to sit and read a book for an hour while she waited for Lily. She made it sound like Shonna was doing HER a favor. That same friend brought over an oatmeal bath additive that has made such a big difference in Shonna being able to sleep. She soaks in that before going to bed. She is unable to take any oral or even topical medications because they are processed in the liver.
Anyway, people have been so very kind. Shonna gets three or four texts a day from people asking how they can help. A silver lining is that Shonna calls us every day to update us. We can hear the improvement in her voice. At first, those calls were scary as she sounded so sick and weak. Blake is a trouper and the kids are being good, so they are making their way through this. We know the power of prayer is in force. Your prayers are appreciated.
No comments:
Post a Comment