A Day With Kaia

It really is hard to put the significance of yesterday's visit to Kaia in the hospital in Albuquerque into words.  It was a big day in my life.  I was witness to, and experiencer of, so many varied emotions.  First of all, let me say that, after spending much of this entire month in the hospital, Kaia is coming home today!  I am so relieved for their whole family.  That said, they are not returning home without concerns or challenges.  Kaia got a virus at the beginning of this month that destroyed her adrenal glands, giving her "adrenal insufficiency," also known as Addison's Disease.  I was there yesterday when they were taught how to break, crush, dissolve, and administer just the right dose of medicine to Kaia, something they will be doing 3 times a day for the rest of her life.  I was there when they were told when to double her dose, when to go to the E.R., when to call the doctor's emergency line, and when to not worry.  I was there when they were taught how to give the emergency shot that they will have to give if she ever throws up, the shot that will save her life. 

How does the world change so much in a month? 

The good news is that Kaia has an amazingly calm, experienced doctor.  She will be with them every step of the way, to offer peace of mind and assistance.  It is also so good that we live in a day and an age and a place where Kaia could get an accurate diagnosis and where medicines can replace what her body cannot create.  The other good news is that Kenn, Diana, Camden, and Kaia have so much support, from family, from friends, and from church.  Three of us got to learn first-hand from the doctor how to administer medicine, making us the first pre-qualified babysitters. 

Life in our family is different than it has been.  We have all been given a reminder of what matters in life and what just does not.  I can admit that I let Basia sleep in our bed last night.  After getting home at almost midnight and being overwhelmingly tired, she needed her mom, and I knew that it was not the time to insist she be a big girl and sleep in her own bed.  Maybe, just maybe, I needed her, too.