Goodbye Yoon

It's been 3 months and I still can't believe Dave and I decided to have an exchange student come live with us.  Friday we said goodbye to Yoon.  It was a good experience and I'm glad we did it.  I learned very quickly that even though he is independent enough to live away from home for a year, Yoon still needed a mom.

More times than I can count I reminded him to brush his teeth or told him, "No, marshmallows and jello are not breakfast foods."  He needed someone to lovingly remove tags from his clothes and inform him that his shirt was both inside and backwards. We made sure he had enough socks and shoes that fit.  I'm really glad we were able to let him play with his classmates on the school basketball team. He played with heart and was a valued member of the team.

Yoon learned very quickly that Dave is the fun parent and can be counted on to play a board game or say yes to screen time.  Yoon really enjoyed playing board games, especially Settlers of Catan, Risk, Phase 10, and Ticket to Ride.  I will miss there be an extra person to play.  Linus needed someone who could push back against his antics and require him to compromise more.  I won't miss them fighting like brothers in the car.

As an only child, I think Yoon really enjoyed having siblings.  Yoon especially grew close to Robin.  Yoon was often seen holding Robin's hand while walking, lifting him up, or making sure he had his coat.  Robin learned quickly that Yoon was good for comfort and a snuggle.

Yoon doesn't have cousins close to his own age.  There are lots of Dimock cousins.  He really enjoyed joining us for Dimock gatherings and blended right in with all the kids.  Yoon also got to hold his first baby, my newborn niece, Julia.

He got to meet Cedric too.  Now comfortable with babies, he and Linus argued over who got to hold Cedric.

I introduced Yoon to baking.  He was a quick study and constantly asked to bake.   Good thing I like to bake, especially during the holidays.  It was honestly nice to have someone in the kitchen who was an actual help instead of added stress.  I taught him how to crack an egg, measure flour, using measuring cups and spoons, use a mixer, and even how to simply boil water.  

Yoon was in our middle school choir.  For the Christmas Pageant, the choir was fitted with formal wear -- black dresses and pearls for girls, tuxes with cumberbuns for the boys.  I told Yoon I needed to take his picture and he balked.  I told him in no uncertain terms, "In America, if you wear a tux, you get your picture taken in front of the Christmas tree."  He obliged me in exchange for loosening his collar after the picture.  I need to send these pics to his mom.

The last two days were weird and unsettled.  We all knew he was leaving and we would probably never see him again.  Everyone just sort of pretended it was just a normal week.  We did go out to dinner the last night at his favorite restaurant, SanMaru (Korean bbq).  Packing was interesting.  His complete disorganization was almost comical. Two days later the house definitely feels different and a little more empty without Yoon.

I admit it was exhausting at times to have to parent one more child.  Mostly it was logistical because we didn't live close to where he was dropped off after Korean school.  But really, other times he made things easier.  The kids informed us they would be willing to host an exchange student again.  Since we don't live close, I need to wait until pick up doesn't coincide with bedtime.  I wondered if it would be weird to have a student live at my house.  It wasn't.  I teased him about his mean science teacher (me) and I always knew what his homework was.  I figure it is preparation for the day when I teach my own kids.  I have zero regrets about sharing our lives with Yoon.  I hope he feels the same way.

Cute Kids

I live with some pretty cute kids. We included Yoon in our annual matching Christmas jammies.

It's been a festive couple of weeks. We decorated for Christmas.  Our new tree has the option of colored or white lights.  I fight a losing battle every day to have it be white lights.  The kids decorated tree, which means it looks kind of junky and includes ornaments made by yours truly when I was nine.

Robin and Eileen took advantage of the cleared space to make carpet angels and play with bubble wrap.

We helped out once again for the Figgy Pudding Contribution.  Our role is to go down and check in with the event organizers and set up our singing location.  My kids often function as the donation procurer.  Robin has it down to a science, "Please donate!  Thank you for your support!"

In a final dose of sweetness, I'm finally getting around to sharing official school pictures. These kids need to slow down!

It Started with a Limp

It all started with a slight limp.

On Saturday I was doing what I usually do, grocery shopping when I got a text from Dave.  He said that Robin was acting strange and asked if I had noticed him limping. A few minutes later I got another text informing me he had a fever of 101.4 and had just thrown up.  Being a veteran mom at this point, I was not overly alarmed.  Honestly, I was annoyed because we were supposed to go meet our new niece and now it meant we all couldn't go.  Dave opted to stay home with Robin. They read books, played quietly.  He threw up again and went to bed early.  Typical sick day.

Back from grocery shopping, I found him like this.

Sunday Robin was feeling better, just a little off.  We kept him at home just in case he vomited again.  He was still slightly limping.  We looked to see if he had maybe stepped on something or had a splinter.  Nope. Nothing.  We didn't recall any wrestling injuries.  Monday Robin went to school.  His limping was a little worse, but more notably he didn't eat his snacks. 

Tuesday his limping was significantly worse.  Dave and I wondered if maybe he overextended his ankle due to low tone, just another fun side of cerebral palsy?  I felt I needed to go to work that day, but I would take him into the doctor in the afternoon.  I warned his teachers he was still limping and that it was a little worse.  During school, Robin barely ate lunch and didn't eat either snack.  By the end of the day he couldn't walk.  The music teacher ended up carrying him at one point.  At the end the day, his teacher checked in with me, concerned.

At this point I decided I needed to skip the staff meeting and take Robin to Children's.  Eileen, Robin, and I drove all the way over to Children's to Urgent Care.  Turns out Urgent Care didn't open for another 2.5 hours.  They recommended going to a walk-in clinic.  My gut said take him to the ER, but my wallet and desire to not freak out told me to take him to the walk-in clinic.  So we drove all the way back to Shoreline.  We were seen very quickly and they told us we needed to go to the ER at Children's.  Seriously!?!  At this point, the three of us were very hungry.  We got snacks at Starbucks and drove once again to Children's.  Seattle traffic at this time of day is terrible and there is no quick way to get to Children's from Shoreline.

Both the docs at the walk-in clinic and ER suspected a septic joint. It was no fun getting an IV.  They blew a vein the first time.  Just seeing needles on a tray was very upsetting for Eileen.  She felt like she was going to vomit.  Childlife took Eileen away to distract her and get her a snack.  Another childlife person helped calm Robin so they could get his IV in.  Eventually, Dave and Linus showed up and took Eileen home.

Warming up his veins.

 A while later, Robin's labs came back.  His WBC levels were normal, but an x-ray showed inflammation and fluid.  His lower right tibia was warm to the touch.   When the pain was only slightly lessened with ibuprofen, the orthopedic doctors ordered an MRI.  At this point it was 1 am.  Robin was very brave.  They barely even strapped him down.  I had to watch as tears streamed down his face, but he didn't move. Luckily, it was just a quick MRI, about 10 minutes.  Within 20 minutes of the MRI we had a diagnosis, osteomyelitis. Robin needed to be admitted.

We got to our shared room around 2 am and both promptly passed out.  Thus began our in-patient adventure.  With pokes over, the only annoyance was being frequently woken up.  Our roommate was lovely and got to check out that first day.  He had the better side so we moved over.

Children's is an amazing place.  Everyone is so so so incredibly nice.  Robin began to enjoy his "arm hugs" (blood pressure checks).  There is a morning coffee cart with coffee, tea, and hot cider.  But also cookies, snacks, crayons, coloring books, books, toys.  It's pretty magical.  Santa was in the playroom in the afternoon so we went and visited him.

In the playroom, Robin and I played chess. He created a new version called, Santa Chess, using his new bendy santa he got as a present from the elf.    Santa chess involves bendy santa wrapping itself around Robin's guys, preventing attack.  It also allows the piece with santa to magically jump and attack any opponent piece.  He had the volunteers in stitches, explaining the rules.

Santa chess was a big hit.  When Dave took him to the playroom the following day, all the volunteers had already heard about the game.  I accused Robin of maybe having an unfair advantage.  He replied, "I'm just really good at Santa Chess."

Dave and I switched off who stayed with Robin.  Friends who worked at Children's visited.  Robin enjoyed unlimited tv, a personal ipad provided by the hospital, meals in bed, and a mom who let him order fun things like milkshakes. 

Linus sent his stuffed "Hobbes" to keep Robin company. Later he used his good choice points at school to get Robin is own little tiger, now known as Baby Hobbes.  It's Robin's new favorite companion.

Robin kept his humor and charm.  The nurses and doctors all got a kick out of him.

It's been a stressful week.  The outpouring of support from friends and family has been amazing.  I know everyone's prayers are why he only had to spend a few nights at the hospital.  We were lucky to avoid surgery and his body didn't metabolize the medicines too quickly. 

I'm so glad we took Robin in when we did.  We caught the infection early before it could spread and do more damage.  He still has a long recovery ahead: 4-6 weeks of antibiotics every 6 hours, weekly blood draws, weekly visits at Childrens alternating between orthopedics and infectious diseases departments.  He will continue to limp for a little while and needs to not push himself too much.

We are all so glad to have him home, knowing he is going to be okay.  Osteomyelitis is no joke and it could have been so much worse. It all started with a limp. If I learned anything from the experience, it's trust your gut.