Some results

Unfortunately, when Ethan had his blood drawn for his allergy tests, the technician sent it to the wrong place and we had to go back yesterday and do it all over again... poor little guy.

Preliminary results showed that his white blood cell counts are perfectly normal (WOO HOO!) so he is not battling any internal infections; however, his red blood cell count was a bit low. Hopefully we'll get some allergy results before the end of next week.

As for continued care for Ethan, his pediatrician wants to see him every month and monitor food introduction very closely. She doesn't seem concerned about his weight loss (am I just overreacting?) because she claims he is still within the 20th percentile. We will continue to chart his growth on a monthly basis through his pediatrician. The good news is that he is finally peeing lots again and his bowel movements are looking more normal. (No, this wouldn't be a mother's blog if there was no reference to poop.)

Continued care via the allergy specialist is turning out to be on a weekly basis. I will request a weigh in at each visit to be on the safe side. We have reduced his wet wraps to once a day but may need to increase it to two again.

Ethan's mood is MUCH BETTER!!! He still suffers bouts of intense itching & discomfort but some of his awake time can be spent playing on the floor with some toys. Just yesterday, he managed to keep rolling from his tummy onto his back! He loves his jolly jumper and we hope that the weight bearing helps his digestion.

His cheeks & joints still ooze and I can smell the staph infection on his face & head when we are getting close to wet wrap time so we have been washing his cheeks & head with colloidal silver prior to lotioning him up throughout the day.

Our nights are rough (ok, maybe not for Ethan but they sure are for me!). He nurses every two hours or so for forty minutes at a time & sometimes requires a diaper change in there so I am getting about forty-five minutes to an hour of sleep at a time throughout the night. By the time the 5:00 a.m. feeding time comes around, I can barely blink because my eyes are so dry.

As for the amazing request from so many of you on how to help, the truth of the matter is, prayer or meals are most appreciated or caring for Anika in the morning while I try to sleep when Ethan goes down. But even there, our meals are so restricted diet-wise that I can't expect anyone to spend the amount of time I have trying to FIND recipes let alone make us a meal! And babysitting Anika in the morning is tough, too, because so far we've been scheduling the pediatrician, allergy specialist, chiropractic & naturopath apts in the morning when Anika is awake so as not to interfere with her afternoon naps.

I've even had offers from people to come clean my house! Even that is challenging as there is so much paper work that needs filing & sorting and only Duane or I know where they need to go (ok, I am the only one that knows where they need to go... hee hee hee).

I think that's why prayers are so valued because they reach us in ways we don't know how to ask: more wisdom, more energy, more quality breastmilk for Ethan, more relief and healing for Ethan, more support for the other kids who wonder why they are now on the sidelines of quality time & care, more patience, more faith... these requests far exceed a clean house or full tummies. It's the "unseen" but it is felt far deeper than words can say. To know you are praying for my son is a comfort that reaches my soul. This way I can TRUST this whole process because there is a higher power at work here. Even if I'm out to lunch (and trust me, with this much lack of sleep, I am starting to not know the difference between dream, thought & reality) at least I am finding peace in that trust.

Thank you for contributing to a happier Ethan. His voice is still hoarse from all of his screaming this last month (at one point, he had actually lost his voice) but at least that little hoarse voice is cooing and communicating. His favourite activity that Grandma Jackie helped him to discover is sticking out his tongue and watching intently how we stick ours out, too. I chuckle because I can just imagine hearing him say "WasssssUUUUp?"

God bless you all for journeying with us, for suggestions, support, encouragement and overall presence. Thank you!