Home Sweet Home

We're so glad to be home! Esther and I were ready to go by the time Tom and Samuel finished up with dialysis, so we all left the hospital together. Two kids, two wheelchairs. We were home in time for a quick lunch and then Esther and I collapsed together on one couch and took a 3-hour nap. Samuel had a bad headache and was feeling awful after his dialysis session. Upon arriving home, he walked directly from the car to the couch, only pausing briefly to shed his shoes.


Samuel slept like this for about 6 hours today. This is actually a common sight on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Samuel is regularly sick after dialysis and often spends the afternoon sleeping it off. Apparently, the coat-over-the-head is to keep out light.

After some unpacking, kitchen clean-up, and laundry, I'm jammied up and nestled comfortably in my bed. Yes, a bed, a real bed! It's heavenly! Esther is asleep beside me. I may never get out of bed again!

Before I can go to sleep though, I have to email some homework assignments to my Latin students. A sweet friend substituted for my weekly Latin classes yesterday. Thank you, Joanne!

If you are wondering about our late night escapade last night, we had even greater success with our mischief, I mean mission, than expected. Our accomplice in the crime was a pediatric resident who knew the secret code needed to gain access to the administrative wing. (Thanks, G.!) Instead of leaving Esther's water bottle collection outside the good doctor's office as planned, we arrived to find her office door wide open. We tastefully decorated her desk with the empty water bottles and left her a little love note. It was fun and our good-humored doctor had a good laugh this morning when she came into work. It was a nice diversion after having to behave myself for all those days in the hospital.

Oh, and if you are wondering why we spent all those days in the hospital and how a simple rehydration treatment turned into a fever and a 10-day hospital stay...you'll have to keep wondering. The final diagnosis was "fever of unknown etiology", which simply means Esther was sick, but they don't know why. Every test and culture that they did came back negative. No specific bacteria or virus could be identified. Of course, they can't possibly test for every possible pathogen, so something caused Esther to be sick, we just may never know what it was. And in the end, it doesn't really matter. She is getting better.