Collin Update part 3

It just dawned on me that this may become a 20 part update and no matter how descriptive I am there is no way to actually describe the trip if you didn't actually live it. So I will try to give the condensed version so maybe I can finish it and I can move on to the present, it is so much more fun!!

Collin ended up taking a huge dive (to put it mildly)on his 3rd day. It was so bad that I was actually doubting that he was going to ever make it home. He became completely unresponsive and listless. There was a huge lack of communication and it was obvious that this was not the place that Collin would get better. I got on the phone with the US Embassy to find a hospital somewhere that could provide modern medical care rather than banana tea or to get him home somehow so we could get him to Children's Hospital. They gave me the name of a hospital in Guatemala City. An ambulance took us back to the city and THANK YOU BABY JESUS we made it to a REAL hospital. They had latex gloves and machines and little baby sized needles. Many of them even spoke English. I had no idea that they had a hospital like this or we would have gone there first. I assumed that the first place was the reality of medical care in Guatemala but I soon found out it was only a reality for the kids that are under the guardianship of the attorneys. I also found out that the doctor that had been treating all of the kids with our agency is not even a pediatrician! No wonder he OD'd the poor baby on antibiotics and drugs. Needless to say I was not happy!

The doctors at this hospital were great and luckily the doctor treating Collin was the same doctor that would evaluate him for his Embassy appointment. He was a very nice man and adamant that we would not leave the hospital until Collin was back to normal. After 4 of the longest days of my life all I wanted to see was the smiling happy baby I knew before this mess. I was beginning to think we may never see that baby again. I didn't know if his organs or brain had been damaged permanently-we still didn't even know what was wrong with him. On day 7 he still wasn't back to normal. His hands and feet swelled up and turned bright red. This obviously set off some bells. Later that day they ran some additional tests and found out that he had Denge Fever which is a virus you get from a mosquito bite in tropical regions. All of the antibiotics had killed his ability to fight the virus and destroyed the flora in his stomach an intestines.

The doctor joked and said that Collin was just waiting for his diagnosis before he would get better. By the next day he was definitely improving and we only had 1 day until his final Embassy medical evaluation. The doctor was kind enough to release us from the hospital just in time for Wyatt to arrive. He told us he wanted to see a smiling baby at his appointment the next day. He did smile for the doctor the next day and received his clean bill of health-ha ha-to leave the country!! Collin had improved so much that Wyatt joked that if I wanted him to come down sooner I could have just asked!??!!

Collin was truly was back to the baby that I remembered and I can't even describe my elation! It made me think of some people that we know with sick kids and I have an even greater respect for them now than I did before. It is the worst, most helpless feeling to see this little human being suffering and they can't tell you what is wrong or you can't tell him that these people are trying to help and it will only hurt for a second. It is unfathomable how difficult it is to not know if that little baby is going to get through this and to stay awake all day and all night just to make sure he still breathing. It really makes all the other "stuff" seem so petty and unimportant. But, the good thing is that he is home and he is better!!

He was a champ on the airplane-no crying or screaming. He was greeted at the airport by his Pops, cousins Brylie and Kahlen and Uncle Bryan and Aunt Jessie. Everyone was so happy to finally meet him. The house was decked out with balloons to welcome him home.

I was really lucky to have my mom with me the whole time. It was a great experience for us to have together and I don't know what I would have done without her. I was not sure if we would drive each other crazy but we were both so focused on Collin there wasn't time for anything else. She was quite the trooper, sleeping on the floor and eating Guatemalan hospital food. I am sorry for both of us that our experience in Guatemala was such a negative one and so different than my first trip. It really is a beautiful country and there is so much to see. Unfortunately, she only saw the worst of the worst. I have never wanted to be back in the US so badly and I have no desire to go back to Guatemala any time in the near future-maybe when Collin is 18!

So we are home now and life will never be the same-LOL!! In a matter of 1 week I have broken just about every rule I had in my head of things I would NOT do when I was a parent. The most recent being buying a DVD player for the car. I know...we didn't have DVD players or car seats or any of this stuff but Collin seems to have a major issue with the car. I don't know if it is the car seat or the fact that he can't see me or maybe it is just my driving. Either way-I cannot take listening to him scream bloody murder every time I drive somewhere. I did not hear screams like this when he was being tortured with giant needles and gagged with things stuffed down his throat. Do anything to the poor kid but don't put him in my car!!!! I can't tell you how many times I have pulled off the side of the road to see if I accidentally shut his fingers in the door or something because I don't know how that sound comes out of that quiet, happy little boy. Something terrible must have happened, but no, he's just mad. And I mean MAD!!

I debated if I should throw all of my Accident Investigation paranoia out the window and turn his car seat around to face the front. I decided to try a DVD player instead but only on one condition...only Baby Einstein DVDs played in Spanish or the family video DVD we have from our first visit. He has a DVD player but he WILL learn something if it kills me!!! I don't want to jinx myself but I hooked it up today and it seems that I am on to something!!SCORE!!! I can drive in peace and give my ulcer a break.

We have gotten rid of all of the furniture in our upstairs living room and made it into a play room. We now have a play area on every level of the house-yes, all 4 levels. Some may recall I stated I would not be one of those people that runs out and buys every toy and loads up the house with a bunch of junk. BUT-it's not junk, they are educational toys that will make him more coordinated and intelligent. I hope he's not "over-coordinated" like his dad was when he was a child!! I am sure that 3 jumpers is not overboard...right? He loves to jump!! I am simply providing him with the resources to improve his skills and abilities. Who knows, maybe he will be a basketball player or a track and field star. I'm not sure how to rationalize the McDonald's cash register that says "chicken nuggets' and "french fries"-maybe I'll get rid of that!!

Otherwise, things are going great. Wyatt never ceases to amaze me. He is truly a fantastic father. I love watching him with Collin. It is interesting seeing how Collin interacts with us differently. He definitely knows his daddy! The best part is he laughs at everything Wyatt does. We will definitely have different philosophies on parenting but who doesn't. I am a mom and he is a dad and that is the way it should be. Hopefully we will balance each other out.

I never thought that life would really change that much with a baby in the house but I was WRONG,WRONG, WRONG!. I am no longer the HBIC-he runs the house and he runs my life. The shocking thing is that I don't mind one bit. He is the cutest thing I have ever seen and a joy to have around. I can say with a great degree of certainty though, that I could not be a stay at home mom. Wow, what a job. I will need to go to work just to escape the impossible job of constantly entertaining a baby!

Well, I guess I am pretty much up to date. Announcements should be going out soon. I have to say they are really cute, but I may be a little biased!! I think we won the baby lottery!

Off to bed-hopefully!!!