We have a month chock full of adventures and fun. First, we had to recover (and we have to stay healthy!!)

Not really the intended use for the Lego table, but it works!

Trevor was stacking boxes and actually asked me to take his picture!

Next, a 2-night camping adventure with some friends

We had a full Easter dinner in the woods with ham and mashed potatoes, mac & cheese, corn, and rolls! Now that is camping! Thanks Josh & Adrienne for the feast! Then the kids colored eggs. The boys’ friend Olivia is just a few months younger than the boys. She kept calling Trevor “Treasure”. 😀

Jack is 6 and impresses the boys with all of his sweet super hero outfits.

Trevor only likes the yolk part of hard boiled eggs.

Olivia just wanted to hold hands with her “Treasure” while they gathered pine cones to throw in the fire.

Photo op on cool tree

I finally got to take a picture of all of the boys wearing their hand made sweaters!

This morning was an egg hunt (with all the eggs that they colored the day before.

Three boys running in the woods

We got home around 1PM, cleaned the sheets and prepped the trailer for the next guests. We had to go to the airport at 8PM for a pickup! We have Gramma and Kayla here safe and sound for the rest of the week!

It has been too long, and yet I had to dig for some content. As you know, Trevor was sick, then Brendan was sick and in the hospital, I was sick, and then when Brendan got better, Trevor was sick again with the same coughing, fever, achy miserable cold all over again.

We are finally all better. I hate to even type it. It has to last a while! I am also impressed that being on Singulair seems to be helping Brendan. He is wearing his cap longer than before and coughing less.

I pulled some photos off my phone and realized that there were a few gems that I think I haven’t posted. Some of them may be older.

Boys that don’t feel well lazing about in the tent.

What happens when a feeding tube medication port opens and half digested formula mixed with bile empties on to the floor at IKEA? I have to get a million napkins and clean it up myself. Yuck.

Trevor just wanted to try one of each candy.

Here is a shot of our last Lego set from our subscription service. This was a super model.

Static electricity!

While Brendan was in the hospital, Trevor had to go to the Hopekids event without him – a build a Batmobile workshop. Trevor made one for Brendan, in his favorite color. “Aqua” Don’t try to pass off plain blue on Brendan, he likes AQUA.

The SeaLife Aquarium opened a new section dedicated to the Octonauts. We really wanted to teleport Kieran to us. It was really well done and very interactive.

We want to wish a super happy 15th birthday to Kayla (on the 16th). We can’t wait to see her and Gramma in less than two weeks! We will make cake. 🙂

Thank you to those that reached out to check on us when there was no blog for so long. This month has been challenging and emotional and taxing in many ways, but we are back to moving forward again.

If you had not already heard through other channels, Brendan spent four nights in the hospital after I had to take him to the emergency room on Sunday. He tested positive for RSV, and then developed secondary bacterial infections of pseudomonas and moraxella. His diagnosis was “Acute Tracheitis” and he just needed air at 65% oxygen to maintain his saturations. (The air we breathe is about 21%)

I won’t go in to detail about our stay, it was miserable for the whole family. Trevor was not allowed in to the hospital as part of their attempt to control the spread of viruses, RSV in particular. It made our “shift changes” a little more complicated. Brendan had IV antibiotics, chest xrays, nasal swabs, and all kinds of pokes and prods and tests that surely felt like pure torture to him.

Over the weekend, we maintained with breathing treatments, but it just wasn’t enough

At least the cafeteria has good food.

Warm towels after a pretty lame sponge bath

Getting some “work” done, he says

As far from the bed as he was able to get. We were on the 9th floor with a pretty spectacular view of the city and airport or even the sunrise. He couldn’t look.

The Child Life Department brought in different toys every day to try to keep him entertained

He started feeling better pretty quickly once all the meds kicked in. But he was stuck until his oxygen levels went down. Even iPad got boring, he had to find new ways to play and relax.

We had a great team of doctors that worked hard to get Brendan discharged on Thursday night. They trusted that we could continue to take care of him and that he would get better faster at home. I did not expect to be home before Friday.

Brendan negotiated with all of his might for the most “rewards” for all of the suffering he faced. He could not decide between minecraft legos, an air patroller plane, a color changing Mack truck, or a giant bat cave. He would see commercials and keep changing his mind, so he tried to convince me that he should get them all.
He settled on the bat cave, he pushed hard to go to Walmart on the way home from the hospital. (didn’t happen!)

He got his bat cave this morning.

He told me about 20 times that he loved it

Trevor had a tough time with Brendan and I being gone so much. He missed his whole school week last week being sick, but he went his three days this week. Next week is his Spring break!
I was so tickled by how much the boys really missed each other. They were nothing but giggles and wrestling for a while.

Brendan has a lot of recovering still to do. RSV can cause long term issues and so Brendan started taking Singulair to try to help prevent further swelling and attacks.

I leave you with some selfies taken by Brendan.