Thanks! And Good News....And A Mystery Solved

Hey friends and family,

I just want to thank you all for all the sweet words of exhortation and encouragement you have given me. I woke up today feeling more like my normal self but I know that more transition sadness will creep up. Dawn, I am going to take your advice and spend 30 minutes a day with God. Well, at least aim for Monday-Friday :). I feel very much loved by you all and so thankful for the extra prayers.

The good news is that all of us now have healthcare insurance! Woo-Hoo and praise the Lord! I just enrolled us all in the state medical assistance program. We are fully covered for dental, eye, and medical coverage. I had to pick a primary care physician for Jon and the boys without talking to anyone but I got the names of the doctors on good recommendations. It feels soooo good to have that taken care of!

The solved mystery (I never posted about the mystery) is that Ewan does not have a worsened form of Keratosis Pilaris but rather a case of Fifths Disease. We are pretty sure that Jon's mysterious illness last week was the same thing. We are also fairly sure that I had it not too long after we arrived in Pennsylvania. I felt achy and very tired for a couple of days but it passed quickly. Jon ran a fever and felt bad for about 5 days with bad aches and pains. Ewan never seemed to show any signs of fever or malaise but has the telling red slapped cheek look on his face. I thought his Keratosis was getting worse as a result of food sensitivities. I finally figured it out this morning when the rash spread to his arms and now, this afternoon, his legs.

If you remember how the boys had a fever on our big drive up here, it is possible that is when they had the contagious part of the illness and somehow it has taken this long for the rash to appear on Ewan. The stupid part about the disease is that you don't really know what it is until the rash shows up and by then it is too late because you aren't contagious anymore. The result is that you have no idea you are spreading the disease around. Apparently it was going around in Anna before we left and the incubation period can be up to 28 days. My two good friends Kim and Darlene got it.

About a week after we got to Pennsylvania I started feeling feverish and achy. When I checked my temperature it was normal. I felt sluggish and tired for about 3 days. I think that I probably had fifths disease first. The downer is that is can be harmful for the fetus of a pregnant woman. It can cause fetal anemia although it is very rare. Once I figured out that Ewan had the rash then I knew that I had been exposed and that it was probably what I had a few weeks ago. I called the midwives today and left a message letting them know that I had been exposed to it and that I probably had it but I have not heard back from them yet. After Darlene (who is also pregnant) was diagnosed with fifths her OB sent her to a perinatologist. She will have to go every week and get a sonogram to monitor the baby. I don't know if the midwives here will follow the same protocol. I don't know how they can tell from a sonogram whether or not the baby is anemic but if they discover the baby is they will do a in-utero blood transfusion. Sounds pretty invasive and serious. I have read that it tends to be more serious of a woman is in her first trimester when she is exposed to fifths. I do not feel concerned about the health of the baby but I am nervous about whether or not I will be booted into the "high risk" category of pregnancy and will have to birth at the hospital with the midwives and not at the birth center. Please pray for baby "Tex" that he is and will be completely healthy and that I won't be labeled high risk.