Help-& thanks

I think I am feeling stress-
Sometimes the day to day life stuff seems like so much when there are other "matters" to take care of

I spoke with Luke's surgeons office on Thursday, to rearrange our pre-opp appointment and to ask questions about the recovery period, and specifics that I had not thought to ask the last time we visited. He called me back on Thursday afternoon. I was so glad to hear his frankness and openness of things.
This is all no big deal for him, but recognizes that it is a big deal for us.
And I truly think this is a bigger deal than I have let myself believe.
There were things that I had not really thought about- and was glad to face them right now instead of after we had traveled the many miles to get there, and feel "shocked"-
Some of the things make total sense, and I am surprised I had not thought about them before now.
I don't know if I was in denial, or just looking at all the positive things about the trip so that I could cope, or what.
He mentioned that he will need to keep his face dry for about a month.
Ummm- our child is a fish.
So no swimming until almost the 4th of July-
He will need to have his face covered from the sun-
He will have stitches on the inside and outside of his nose, packing and a stint, and possible stitches on the outside of his lip and mouth.
He needs to be on a soft diet for about a week-
I am really surprised that I did not think about any of this before.
But here we are countdown 2 weeks, and we leave.

So here is where the stress comes in.
My body has caved to the stress.
I am running a fever, achy, my ears are plugged, and the whole right side of my face hurts.
Last night around 9:15 I was on the phone with my girlfriend, and on my way upstairs, and I started having a sneezing fit. The rest of the night I just did not feel well- and woke up to the sinus headache.

Today, Luke swallowed a penny- and it was pretty sobering for him. Scared him- (and us)
And I hope that he won't do it again. Just yesterday I saw him put one in his mouth at school, and I told him I would have to take it away- If I saw him do it again.
Well we did not see him with one this morning-
When we asked why he put it in his mouth- he said and I quote

"I like how they taste!"

YUCK!!!

After a while we finally got him to drink something- and we hope we have done the right thing, by not taking him into the ER-

*****

So here is where I call out to all my friends ... for their help.

I can do this.
But our family does not have to do it alone
I am in need of prayers of strength and health for me as the mom, for Luke and for our family.

I give an utmost shout of thanks to those who have been thinking and praying already for our family. There have been times in my life, that I really can feel our family being lifted up by the strength of others and their prayers.
Specifically that first year of life for Luke-

And there have been times that I have been lifted by others comments-
(specifically I am thinking of this last Friday)
At different times I had different people tell me how much they believed in me, and our family, and my abilities as a mother.
That we would make it through this.
The little pats on the back lifted me up to carry on through the day!

So as a little side note- share your positive thoughts with others. Make that little phone call or note to say what is on your mind about someone when the thought pops up. Follow that prompting- you are being prompted for a reason!

I know this is long-
I have lots more to say-
I think I will post again later-
with specifics of what my friends can to do help-(I have been asked but at the time I could not think)

Thanks for your love and your strength, and your humor-
sometimes it is good to talk about something else for a while, and a good laugh has been great!