"Reflections at 6 months~"

[snip]

"Since Matthew has passed away, I've discovered that I just have to go through the pain~ that I couldn't sleep it away, travel it away, or shop it away~ but to just experience the sorrow and trudge through it head-on, doing my best to keep going with life and make the best of it (with as many smiles as I can) with loved ones. We have been FOREVER changed. Matthew permanently took a part of each one of our hearts with him to heaven, and we are just learning to live with the permanent wound now. We just have to trust in God and lean on each other to get through this new chapter in life."

[snip]

"One heartfelt realization that I came to recently~ Ely and I thoughtfully chose the name 'Matthew' because it meant 'gift from God'. And so, we are grateful that God gave us our amazing son, MATTHEW YI-WEI TSERN, and his 8 1/2 beautiful years of life, as His gift. From here, we hope to move on from feelings of profound pain to profound blessing."

[snip]

"That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are quite small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever! So we don't look at the troubles we can see right now; rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen. For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18"

The strength of this family continues to inspire me.

Chloe's hives ended up rapidly all over her body. I had to dose her with Benadryl, which is just taking the edge off the rash for her, and I stuck her in a tub with baking soda.

She said "I don't WANT nakey soda!!!" That's my girl.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, fevers are a good thing. So long as they stay low.

I spent the last two days monitoring Chloe for her fevers and her breathing with her croup. She got some nebulizer treatments, but that's it. Her fevers never got high enough (in my book) to treat. I tend to start treating around 102 - she hung out around 100, never exceeded 101. I swear back when I treated my kid for low grade fevers like this, the illnesses hung around longer.

Then again, this is what a fever is SUPPOSED to do, make an inhospitable environment for the germs, and therefore drive them out more quickly. I love our immune systems, they are amazing.

Interestingly enough, she is having hives - most likely as a result of the illness. She's only developed hives as an infant as a result of her food allergies... She had a few off and on for the past couple of days as the illness progressed, but today, now that the fever is broken her whole front torso is covered with them, as well as a few on her back, and a bunch down her legs.

Dr. Sears says:

Children can also get hives during a normal illness such as a cold or fever. Because this is an allergic reaction, you need to observe your child for other signs of a severe allergic reaction such as throat tightness, wheezing, breathing difficulty, or persistent vomiting. Go to the ER if these happen.

I was thinking maybe it is another viral rash, but they are classic hives, coming and going, welty, etc etc... of course, since she's wheezy from the croup, I have a hard time determining the cause of the wheezing, but she's not wheezy enough to be worried yet.

If only she'd sleep! I'm exhausted from her waking five times a night again, which she hasn't done in a year and a half. She's pretty exhausted from it as well. She doesn't nap much at home anymore - so she's not making up for the lack of sleep much. This too shall pass...