Update on the Williams boys

Cody is 4yrs old and Carter turned 19 months last Friday. As some of you know the boys and I got a virus in early January. It lasted a few days and we all got over it. So we thought. Since that nasty virus the boys have not been the same. They have episodes where they throw up or have diarrhea or both every two weeks. At first the pediatricians said they were passing something back and forth. I sent one child and parent to one house and the other set to another. Still they got sick. Then the dr's said well they are relapsing from the virus and yet it continued. In fact it got worse. Cody was having these episodes every two weeks. I knew from the conversations with their doctors that there were 100 different strands of a virus. But COME ON---my children could not possibly get ALL 100 of them. The day it snowed we lost power. Cody was scared so he slept with me. At 4 am he woke from a deep sleep and began to vomit and did so until 10:30am. He had thrown up so much for so long that he began throwing up blood. I was done! I call their dr office and of course it was closed due to weather but the dr on call called me back. I told her that enough was enough and I wanted a GI referral. She agreed and told me what to do at home and they would see us in the am. The GI examined Cody and ordered lots of test. He first believed Cody might have what they call CVS-cyclic vomiting syndrome. He said they would treat him for that while they tried to rule out everything else. At that time his episodes were every 2-3 weeks. Since the appt they have gotten more frequent. Cody is now sick once a week. This past Friday the daycare director called to tell me that Cody woke from his nap vomiting. He was better on Sat am so we figured it was one of his normal episodes that comes and goes. Then Sunday evening Carter had diarrhea and then on the way home from his Mimi's house he began vomiting in the car. I stayed home with him Monday. He was whinny, clingy and really would not eat. At that time he was drinking and having wet diapers. Around 5pm he began to run a low grade fever. He went to bed on time and slept all night. He got up fairly early but his diaper was not that wet. He still appeared sleepy so I put him in the bed with me and rubbed his back and sang to him. He dosed off for a little bit but then coughed and began vomitting. I got him cleaned up and fixed a cup of gatorade to get some fluids in him. He refused the cup. He sat in my lap for about a while but then began to fall asleep again. He was very lathargic at this point so I figured we were going to probably need an IV. The way he looked scared me to death. I called his pediatrican and spoke with a nurse. She said that they would want to see him but would call me right back after talking with a dr to give me a time to come in. The dr called me back within 5 minutes. She listened to me discribe what was going on and due to their history she felt like we needed to go straight to the pediatric ER. She told me to grab my purse, his diaper bag and go and she would call ahead and let them know he was coming. They started an IV right away and drew blood. He was pitful. Stephen met me at the ER and it was a good thing because due to his medical background he is much better in these situations. Surprisingly I held it together even though I was a nervous wreck. He was on an IV over 2 hours and still would not produce urine. The results came back from his blood work and he was severly dehydrated. His level was under 50. The ER dr was surprised that he got that dehydrated that fast based on the few times he got sick. They checked his sugar as well with results under 40. This really concerned both the ER dr and Carter's pediatrician. She decided that he needed to be admitted because he had been in the ER for 5 hours on an IV and had not perked up nor produced urine. I stayed with Carter and Stephen went to pick up Cody and stay with him. He was so upset when Stephen told him that his brother was in the hospital. Stephen assured him that mommy was with him and that the dr's were taking good care of him. Tuesday night Stephen called me around 11:30 to tell me that Cody woke up from a deep sleep again vomitting. SERIOSULY could we catch a break. Cody had Diarrhea all day yesterday. Carter finally perked up late yesterday afternoon and would talk and sing with me but was drinking very littel on his own and not eating at all. The dr ordered lactinex and I was able to get him to take it with some applesauce. The dr's ordered that his IV drip be turned down to a 20. They wanted me to push his to drink on his own. Good luck with a indepentant 19 month old that feels horrible and is tired of being stuck every few hours. His sugar level has finally regulated. He has double ear infections and also tested positive for rotavirus. I changed 14 poop diapers yesterday. The GI dr came by yesterday to examine Carter and discuss both boys. She thinks that the symtoms are GI related but feels like there are possible underlying medabollic issues that may have been triggered by the inital virus. I have taken good notes and tried to find a common denominator between each boy and their episodes. It is very strange that they get sick at the same time or on the same day. Carter was allergy tested 2 weeks ago and his results were normal. No other kid at the daycare has gotten sick. No other family memeber that has cared for them has gotten sick. The did another finger stick this am to check his levels. Carter is not drink enough on his own to hydrate himself and his dyhration level dropped very low again. So the dr increased the IV drip back to 50 and said to hang tight we were not going home yet. They have run a BMP (basic metabolic panel) on both boys this week. Cody's results were normal. The results for the urine test that were ordered on the boys for comparision will not come back for a while. The dr's are very concerned about the boys but stumped because most of their test results are normal. This is very difficult to determine what direction to go next. The dr's said this may be a slow process finding out what the underlining issues are. They have ordered another finger stick in the am to check Carters levels again. Now as if we have not had enough going on I am feeling lousy and running a low grade fever. This is so not fair. I have not seen Cody since Sunday and my beautiful baby is in the hospital. I know that God is the great healer. I have prayed and called out to him to heal my babies or reveal to the dr's what is going on so they can help them. We will continue to deal with the episodes as they arise and try to keep them hydrated as much as possble. I have gotten lots of emails and calls from friends and family checking on us and letting us know that they are praying for us. For that I am thankful. Everyone ask what do you need or what can I do. I can tell you that Stephen and I are at our wits end and terribly frightened for our childrens health. When the dr's have no idea what is wrong or what to do that is scary. I am broken and scared. So here is what I need. I need a good old fashion Jesus healing. We need a miracle. I NEED for friends and family to drop to their knees and pray for answers and healing. It is very stressful. We moved back to SC last summer and have not sold our house in NC. We are still living with family and have new jobs. Both Stephen and I have had to take a lot of time off and in this economy we are so thankful to be employed (and want to stay that way). The cost of all these test and the hospital stay will be a financial challage. Pray for strength for Stephen and I as we care for these beautifl boys.

The Boys

Carter and Cody are like two peas in a pod. They love and enjoy each other. Carter watches everything his big brother does and tries it. Here are some misc photos of them together.

Trip to Disney

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E. Stephen, Cody and I went to Disney in Feb.with Cam, Kim and Carley. Caroline and Carter stayed with their Mimi's. The kids had a ball. We really had a good time with Cam's family. We went to the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios.

Prayer Request

We have so much to be thankful for. God is good and has provided. We have still not sold our home in NC. We are living with family and have been since June 2008. Things for the most part have been good but after 8 1/2 months everyone needs some space. We know that it is in God's hands and we ask that family and friends remember us during this tough time and pray that our home sells soon so we can begin to get settled in SC.

Times Flies

Wow! It has been forever since I last posted. The Williams family has been pretty busy. The last 4 weeks have been tough as the boys have been battling the stomach virus. As Cody told his Dr. "I am over it". The boys are growing so fast and keep us busy. Cody is 4 and so independant. He is so smart and a very caring child. Carter is busy. He is a climber and all over the place. He adores his big brother and watches everything he does. God has truely placed Stephen and I with two wonderful little boys. I feel lucky to their mom and it is an honor to raise them.

Skytop Orchard & Chimney Rock

We had a family outing day and went to Skytop orchard and chimney rock. In all the years I have lived in Greenville I had never been to this apple orchard. It was a lot of fun. Carter loves balls and when he saw all the apples on the ground he pointed and said ball and we said no apple. So all afternoon we told him apple and by the end of the day he could say it. So now when he sees an apple he points and says apple. Stephen helped him pick on and he held onto it for dear life and would not let us take it from him to put in the basket. Cody enjoyed picking and filling the basket. We took lots of pictures, picked apples, tried an apple donut and the boys sat on a pumpkin. Then we ate lunch and headed over to chimney rock. We took hiked to the top with the boys and the view was amazing. It was a fun family day.

Carter's first haircut

Why is it so hard for us mommies to take our little ones for their first hair cut? Carter's hair was so funny because like his brother he has a cowlick in the front of his head. Cody's hair stood up on it's own but not Carter's. The back of his hair in the middle had body (got that from his dad) but the sides was straight as a stick (like mommy). So he just needed a trim to clean up the look and avoid a mullet look. Still I hated to think about his first haircut....once you do that they look like little boys and less like babies. Right after one of Cody's soccer games we took Carter to Jelly Beans for his first haircut. It is a cute kid's shop. They only charge a penny for their "first" hair cut, give you a first hair cut certificate, lock of their hair and the child gets a balloon with a bag of jelly beans typed to it to weight it down. Carter did so good. He did not cry or squirm.