A Christmas Turned...

I have not been the best at updating.  For the most part, life is mundane...until it is not!  That's the case with everyone.  Especially around the holidays!

In December, we did our Santa's Little Hackers event, and sent out 170 toys to disabled children and adults for the holidays.  We have been getting a lot of posts on our Facebook page of the happy faces with their toys.

Santa's Little Hackers toys all ready to be picked up by the USPS. 

After we got the last of the toys mailed out, we kicked in to high gear to get our Christmas going. Thank goodness for Amazon prime, or I would never have pulled it off!

Max finished up with school and therapies and was so excited for a long break.  Then his daddy came down with a cold.  He went to urgent care and got tested for flu and strep on Christmas Eve.  They both came back negative, so he came home to rest and try to fight off the dreaded "just-a-virus". Christmas morning, he came down for a few minutes to open gifts from the kids and me and watch us open ours.  Max was creative as ever this year.

He got his sis a "colorful sweater to wear", and chose this one and the one she would like the best. And she made him a switch adapted Santa from Arthur Christmas, one of his favorite Christmas movies this year.

The kids exchanging gifts.

Max chose "tools" and "a hat like mine" for Daddy.  My gift is yet to be seen...but we're giving Daddy a break since he's been feeling so poorly.  Our Christmas was very quiet, and spent watching movies while Steve slept.

Steve went back to his doctor the day after Christmas convinced it was more than "just-a-virus".  His doctor tested again for flu, but since it has mutated it's not always picking up on the test this year.  She diagnosed him with flu because he was showing all the signs and symptoms.  She also started me and Abbey on a prophylactic run of Tamiflu.  Steve was too far into his illness to start it.  We also called Max's doctor at Children's Hospital and he was started on it.  

Fast forward two days...Max spikes a fever, can't keep his food or medicine in and the fever won't break.  We called his metabolic doctors and asked them to call ahead of him to the ER.  We got to the ER and they did a chest X-ray and ran another flu test.  The Xray showed a possible pneumonia on his lungs, and the flu shot came back positive for Influenza A.  They started him on an antibiotic and moved him to the ICU.  They have since said he definitely has flu, but not pneumonia. 

In the ER...not feeling well at all. 

In the PICU 

Finally sleeping after staying up all night coughing and miserable feeling.

In 10 years and 2 months, this is Max's first run in with the flu.  To say he's miserable would be an understatement.  This is the first illness Max has had that we can't just sort of sedate him through. He's having to fight through it, and cough all the junk out.  His throat hurts, he has the chills, he has high fevers, and nothing seems to help.  

We were awake all night, he and I.  Steve had to go get more rest at home.  Max has finally found some relief from the fever and is sleeping this morning/afternoon.  The doctors are saying we will move up to a floor this afternoon or evening.  No more fishbowl...the ICU rooms are glass for the entire front wall so they can keep an eye on you, and EVERYONE looks in every time they walk by.  I make it a goal to fix my gaze at the end of the hall and look straight ahead because it bothers me so much when people gawk when they walk by. 

For now, this is where we sit.