I Hate Houston!-the trail to church planting 2

January 15, 2013 by

I shared last week about the beginning steps of our journey in church planting. I was so blessed by all the sweet comments you left! Church planting is definitely ever-evolving and encouragement is always welcomed!

After Landon had his surgery, we spent 8 days in the hospital for recovery. A few hours before we were supposed to go home on day 7, he had a tube removed by a doctor, and let’s just say things didn’t go well. Because of this, we had to stay an extra night. 

We finally got home on a Tuesday afternoon- the day Landon turned 8 weeks old (which is how old Canaan is today)- and were exhausted. On top of the normal newborn nursing schedule (all the time!), hospital rest is almost non-existent. Seeing Houston in our rearview mirror was a most welcome sight.

My husband was a youth minister at the time and of course had missed lots of work being with Landon and me. Early Wednesday morning he headed into work to prepare for the youth service that evening. My mom kept Landon so I could attend church that evening. My sister and I headed to Wal-Mart after church to get groceries- after all, we hadn’t been home in 8 days. In the parking lot, my mom called and said that she thought Landon might have a little bit of fever. I tried not to worry. (yeah, right) 

After we went to Wal-Mart, Ben and I went to see the newer version of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” It was nice to have a little date, although I still can’t think of that movie without getting a pit in my stomach. When we got to my mom’s to pick up Landon, I touched him and knew he had fever. This may not seem like a big deal, but it meant we were 99% for sure headed back to the hospital to deal with possible infection.

spending a few extra days in the hospital didn’t take away his sweet smile!

 We called his surgeon and he told us that Landon’s hepatologist (liver doc) would most likely want to see Landon the next day, but to wait a few hours before traveling. (it was a 3.5 hour drive from our house at that time to Houston). I almost had a nervous breakdown. We hadn’t even unpacked completely from the previous stay, and because of Landon’s diagnosis, we knew that the hospital stay to treat infection could last up to 21 days! I began throwing clothes back in our suitcase, all while crying, probably mumbling that I hated Houston- then we crawled into bed for a few hours of fitful sleep.

Around four in the morning, Landon’s fever still hadn’t broken, and we knew that a doctor’s visit was inevitable so we got in the car for the long drive.

We got to the surgeon’s office in the hospital around 8 am, and he sent us directly to the ER, where we spent about 12 hours. Trying to nurse a baby who doesn’t feel well in an over-crowded ER while waiting for lab results is not fun. His white blood cell (WBC) count came in at 54,000, when it should have been around 11,000! Note to future doctors: don’t ever tell parents of babies that you’ve never seen a number so high in a baby before. It will not comfort them. 

So back into inpatient care we went. Fortunately, the doctors were able to put in a long-term IV (called a PICC line) so that we could take him home and administer his meds there. So we were “only” in the hospital another 8 days instead of the regular 21 day protocol.

most of the snuggling in those early days took place on the pull-out couch in Landon’s hospital room

Let’s just say Houston and I didn’t get off to a friendly start. Moving there was the furthest thing from my mind- I just wanted away from there ASAP, back to my comfortable small town! But God would eventually reveal that his plans were not mine. 

stay tuned for part three next week!

funny story: one day my sister-in-law was at the hospital with me. We kept hearing a banging on the side of the wall and were joking it was Spiderman. The next day, my mom was with me and we looked out the window and saw this:
The window washers suspend from the roof to clean the windows- all 21 floors of them! We were on the 12th floor. It was nice to have a laugh in a stressful time!
Mark this down as one of the jobs I’d least like to have!

Photobucket

Thank you so much for subscribing!

Download an eBook today
Filed Under: biliary atresia, children, church, church planting, landon
About Kelli Hays

Kelli Hays is a wife, mother, writer, and friend. She has been blogging since 2008 and loves sharing inspiration for the everyday woman!

Comments

  1. kelli@eatprayreadlove. says
    January 16, 2013 at 9:55 pm

    That picture of Ben and Landon is precious!! And um, I hate Houston too…

  2. kelli@eatprayreadlove. says
    January 17, 2013 at 3:23 am

    ha! It’s a good thing God worked on my heart before we actually had to move! 🙂

  3. kelli@eatprayreadlove. says
    January 17, 2013 at 3:20 pm

    That must have been so scary! I, too, think is such a cute picture! 🙂

  4. kelli@eatprayreadlove. says
    January 17, 2013 at 10:02 pm

    I am enjoying your posts and look forward to reading what God taught you through all of this!

  5. kelli@eatprayreadlove. says
    January 18, 2013 at 1:23 am

    Whoa! I so can’t even begin to fathom what any of that was like. Our little Bubba was in the NICU for a week and we knew it wasn’t life-threatening, but even that took away some of those precious cuddle moments and made life crazy. Whew! Can’t wait to hear more!

Yum