Disconcerting symptoms and rough week for Seth

Hi all,

Gavin was gone Tuesday-Friday this week, so it was more of a blessing than ever that my parents are still here! This is especially because Seth started having a really high fever Tuesday, with lethargy, panting and consequent lower oxygen saturations [using only the top ⅓ of the lungs causes that]. He was fine the following morning, with diarrhea only, but then his fever soared again - 105.3 F! He was super lethargic then. He's got swollen lymph nodes in his groin area; he's lost more than two pounds off his already less-than-5th-percentile frame; some pin-prick marks up his right arm turned into much larger raised patches of sub-dermal bleeding, like some strange rash; and when I took him into the clinic he had a positive strep test, a deep red completely disfigured ear drum and an ear infection in the other ear as well. He vomited five times last evening (four times on Marmi - lucky grandma!), and then today he broke out in a rash reacting to the amoxicillin that was treating his strep throat and ear infections. To top it all off, he has a run-of-the-mill cold that all the kids have, so he's coughing and sneezing and congested too. Life is just not fun for Seth right now.

The doctor ran several blood tests. Everything came back normal, thank God. The doc also switched Seth to the Z-pack (azithromycin) which is nice since it requires only one dose daily!

Seth's complete unwillingness to eat or drink anything REALLY concerns me. He's starting to look wasted. Looking at pictures taken just this past weekend shows a huge difference in this short amount of time. I was so encouraged by how he was eating and gaining the past several weeks, and now we've had this major setback. However, I realize the Lord was perhaps ordaining that big appetite to make him more resilient during this hard bout of illness. I know I can trust God no matter what, and that He loves Seth more than we do. We sure appreciate your prayers with us for health, for wisdom for the medical staff, and for renewed strength and appetite for Seth, Lord willing.

This two pictures were taken 8 days ago. He looks so healthy and happy to me!

Seth's strange arm spots

The other kids (except Gracie) have the normal cold stuff. Marcie is complaining of pain in her cheeks (maxillary sinuses), so that may be another doctor appointment. Will complained about his ear today. We'll see . . .

Gavin is home, so we're all happier tonight. Maybe not healthier, maybe not unconcerned, but happier. :)

A couple of cute things: David was talking to Gavin on the phone and kept trying to show him things (including his toothbrush). Will was also talking to Daddy and just kept yelling "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy's in the phone!" David chimed in, "That's Daddy. This is my mommy [pointing at me] and this is my Will brother [touching Will]."

Today Marcie was running errands alone with me. She started talking about, "my brothers," and said, "I want to go get my boys!" She said she wanted to go get her "Gracie brother" too. I explained that Gracie is her sister. She said, "Yeah, Gracie is my sister brother." It's really cute that they are learning their relationship to one another. They are also congregating together more in public situations rather than splitting up and going in different directions. They like to talk to one another about what they are seeing or what toys they are playing with. They are doing a remarkably good job of sharing! Of course, they're not three yet, so it may be premature to do any sort of bragging. I'm just grateful that they seem to be learning cooperation and seem to genuinely care for and look after one another. When I bought David a small lollipop he said, "Where's Will's candy?!" We had to get one for all the quints and Isaac.

The kids are really into dancing, alone and together, and I got a series of blurring phone photos of their cuteness on Monday. It started with David and Marcie; then Will got excited and joined in, dancing with David; then Marcie inserted herself so it became an embracing trio; then David had enough and dropped out so Marcie and Will could dance alone.

The boys in their cute shirts from CJ and Jonathan! Thanks - we love them! We got a lot of compliments that day. ;) Each boy picked his favorite color, and they each chose a different one. Nice! (This was Tuesday, the first day of Seth's illness. He doesn't look like he feels great, does he?)

David and Marcie in princess dresses (from the movie Brave). David lost interest in his dress much sooner than Marcie did - which is a good thing since it's actually Gracie's dress! Marcie wears a princess dress at least part of every day. She's been given four now. :) She always wears a tutu under them, and today wore bright pink socks, pink Disney princess shows, pink pearl beads, and pink fairy wings. Anything pink appeals to her. She likes matching her Brave dolly, though, in her beautiful new green and plaid princess dress.