disease strikes...

i was warned monday that greyson might get the chicken pox because elijah had them. tuesday morning greyson woke up crying at 4:45 and i knew something was up. i went to check on him and sure enough, he had spots around his wrist. i still went to work and greyson stayed with my mom and elijah all day. when i went to pick him up, my mom said vikki was questioning whether or not it was chicken pox and thought maybe it was hands, foot, and mouth disease.

by wednesday he had spots all over the palms of his hands, his feet, and eventually his buttocks and his mouth. i did some research online and was almost positive this was not a case of the chicken pox. i still went to work, but when i left wednesday morning greyson cried and cried. he kept saying momma and then would sign please. it broke my heart as i left him and drove off. my mom called the school and said i needed to come home because greyson was not doing well. he would cry for an hour straight, and then stop, only to start right back up again. my mom thought maybe he just wanted his momma. so i rushed home and quickly realized his crying did not stop for me, so i called the doctor. i described the spots and the nurse confirmed that it was probably not the chicken pox. she could hear greyson crying and wanted me to bring him in right away. i was so thankful because he seemed to be in so much pain and there was nothing i could do to sooth him. it was heartwrenching!

the doctor confirmed it was hands, foot, and mouth disease and that there was really nothing i could do for him. she gave me some tips-some medications to mix and then rub on his mouth sores with a q-tip and to try to give him anything to drink so he would not become dehydrated. she suggested milkshakes. of course i stopped at mcdonald's on the way home hoping this magic milkshake would bring some relief. he enjoyed this very much and has had several since.

i stayed home with him on thursday too and he seemed to be getting a little better. he did not cry as much and would even play a little bit. friday i went to work and he stayed with my mom. he did okay, but was still pretty irritable and cranky.

that brings us to today. he slept in until 8:00 which i was very thankful for! he seems to be in much better spirits and the swelling in his mouth is going down. the spots on his body are starting to scab over. i feel confident that we are over the worst of it and hopefully in a few days he will be back to his normal self.

please pray that he regains his appetite and that the sores in his mouth will stop hurting completely. we still have been unsuccessful to get him to eat anything since last sunday at lunch. he has lost some weight and you can even see his ribs-we've never been able to see his ribs...ha. ;) also pray that he did not infect anyone before we knew he has this. it's one of the worst things i've ever had to go through as a mom and i hope no one else has to experience this because of him. i'm thankful God has watched over him and is bringing healing.