The last day of '08

The last day of '08 was quite a day for the Krajca family. Our plans were for my Mom and I to some shopping, meet up with my Dad, Curtis and the kids for lunch, naps, packing, sparklers, movie watching and junk food.... greet ways to ring in a new year!

I was at Kohl's, hitting some after Christmas sales with my Mom. We were having a great time! I got a phone call from the ENT. Both boys had ear infections, and I was trying to make an appointment to bring them in once we got home (Micah's ear had been bleeding, Benjamin's ears had been gooey for almost 2 weeks). I had just gotten things squared away when I got a call from Curtis' dad. He was on his way to the hospital with a possible heart attack.

After lunch, and with the encouragement of my parents, Curtis headed to Wichita Falls to be with his dad. At this point, we didn't know much except for the fact that something wasn't right with his heart. To say that we were worried and scared is an understatement! Having already dealt with the loss of Curtis' mom, this all felt very familiar and scary. We were very thankful that the kids and I were at my parents.

I started packing, and making plans to go to Wichita Falls for as long as needed. In preparation to be gone from home longer than we planned, I called the ENT again to see if he would just go ahead and give both boys antibiotics. He said no, and that given their conditions, he would try to have them seen fairly quickly. Now remember, this is New Year's Eve! Thankfully, my Mom was able to find a clinic that she knew was good. She and I loaded the boys up, and headed to the acute care clinic.

Turns out that Micah did indeed have an ear infection (no joke!), and his asthma was giving him fits. Benjamin had a double ear infection, and his breathing wasn't great. His oxygen levels were also low. We were sent to x-ray, which confirmed that Benjamin has pneumonia. Thankfully, we caught it, and he's just on antibiotics and breathing treatments. If we had waited to get home, the pneumonia would have been bad enough to land him in the hospital.

After all that, we headed back to my parent's for dinner and breathing treatments, after which we made a very expensive trip to the pharmacy.

At this point, we knew that Curtis' dad was stable, and not at risk for a heart attack. The problem was that the top half of his heart was beating way too fast, putting him at risk for a stroke. But the doctors were able to stabilize him, and the problem can be taken care of with one little pill. We were so thankful!

Our New Year's Eve wasn't at all what we expected!! But just like the rest of 2008, we were surrounded by the love and support of so many friends and family! How blessed we are.

And as a little update: Curtis' dad went home yesterday, after just over 24 hours in the hospital. Curtis and I met up in OKC, and switched cars with my mom and headed home. Micah is doing great! Benjamin is doing okay. It's taking a little bit longer than "normal" for him to get back to his normal self. We are still doing breathing treatments every 4-6 hours, which is making his very hyper! But he is doing better, and that's what matters!