We brought Evans home on Friday, November 19. Everything was perfect...he was so content, sleeping peacefully and eating well and looking around constantly. On Sunday he woke up fussy, but by Sunday night he was screaming unless he was asleep and could not be consoled unless he was sucking on one of our fingers. His legs were red, and he had two blisters beside his belly button. We went to urgent care and the doctor there said it was a diaper rash or just his coloring and that he was screaming because he wasn't getting enough to eat, so we needed to supplement with formula (I will NEVER go to that place again...if only he knew how WRONG he was!!!). My mom was here, but my dad had left that afternoon. My mom called him and asked him to come back because I was aching for him to be here in case something happened that night--I just had this sinking feeling that something more serious was wrong. Praise Jesus that he was here the next morning--when we woke up, Evans had a huge red, raw spot under his belly button and his chin was peeling and red. We got to our pediatrician's office when it opened Monday morning, and they sent us to the Children's Hospital at Palmetto Richland because they suspected some sort of skin infection.
The next 5 days were something I would not wish on any mother, and certainly not where I expected to spend the first week of my sweet baby boy's life. When we got there Monday morning, they tried to do a spinal tap but he bled too much. They put in an IV and started him on several antibiotics--they weren't exactly sure what he had yet so they wanted to make sure they covered any possibilities. It was the most pitiful thing to see his tiny hand with an IV in it and supported by a little board. They thought he had Staph Scalded Skin syndrome, which meant it was a strain of Staph infection that caused his skin to "slough" or peel off. It is like an extremely bad sunburn that causes the top layer of skin to come off. He was in extreme pain, and he screamed any time someone touched him, which was a lot because he was being so closely monitored. It was awful to watch. By Monday night he looked terrible and they feared it may be in his bloodstream, which could have led to meningitis. They decided to move him to PICU, and those words terrified Matt and me. However, although it was scary to know that we were going to intensive care, it ended up being a huge blessing because we had one-on-one care and the nurses were fantastic. We LOVED all of the pediatricians and residents who cared for Evans while we were there. The next 48 hours were the longest of my life, and at several points I wanted to crawl in a hole and never come out. Matt is so strong, and I could not have made it through without his strength to hold me up. When I wanted to give up, he encouraged me that we would make it through this and come out on the other side. I am also so grateful for my parents who were there the whole time. I am lucky to have a dad who is a doctor, so he could translate what the doctors there were saying. When I was sobbing, my mom just held me. Matt's parents were so wonderful, going to get food for us or staying with Evans so we could leave to have a change of scenery for a while.
On Wednesday they told us he had turned a corner and we rejoiced greatly! Thursday, on Thanksgiving, they told us we could leave the PICU and go back to the pediatric floor, and that we would be able to hold Evans again! We had not held him since Monday, so this was the best Thanksgiving present we could have gotten! While I never thought I would be at the hospital on Thanksgiving, we were so grateful for the many blessings God showered us with that day. Evans looked much better, was eating again, and he was in our arms. Matt's sweet grandma cooked Thanksgiving lunch, and his mom was kind enough to heat it all up and pack it to bring to the hospital so we could have our traditional meal for turkey day! On Friday, they told us that since Evans was eating so well he could go home! They gave us oral antibiotics to take him home with, along with some other ointments, etc. that he will take until Wednesday. This has been absolutely the hardest thing I have ever experienced--seeing my baby in pain and feeling so helpless--but God taught me so much and made me so strong through it.
"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus, throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen!" Ephesians 3: 20-21



