I had planned to share more of this story yesterday evening, but the season finale of The Real Housewives of Orange County was on and I had to stay focused on that.....don't judge.
I want to repeat that this is a true story, and as much as I want to write my own stories, it was NOT written by me, but I am sharing from the original manuscript. Again, I have changed the names for privacy even though most of the people in this have passed on.
MY GIFTS FROM HEAVEN (part 2)
Everything was fine for the next three days and as the time grew closer for me to leave the hospital, I noticed that Kevin's complexion had a yellowish cast to it. I spoke to the doctor about this. He took some blood tests of Kevin. The count was very high; if it went any higher he would have to have a complete transfusion. A mild case of yellow jaundice is not unusual to new babies but it could mean trouble.
I immediately called John on the telephone and let him know about the problem. He was having supper at my Mom's house. When he received my call, Mom told me later, he was in the middle of his meal and when I told him of Kevin's condition, the laughter that had been his, left, and he pushed his supper aside to go out for a lond walk, alone. He did away with the cigars he had been passing out for the last two days.
When he came to the hospital that evening he looked so dejected. The same thing was going through his mind that had done through mine. Was something going to be wrong with this baby too?
Dr. Moore came into the room to speak to us. He said they were to make further tests on Kevin, but in the past hour or two, he was showing some improvement. They would leave things go for now and see what happens.
By the time I was ready to leave the hospital, Kevin's blood count was normal so the crisis was over. John and I felt better after hearing the news. Everything was fine now, our worries were over and we felt at peace again.
I left the hospital on the fourth day, but we had to leave Kevin there for about ten days for precautionary measures. By the time he came home I was well rested and able to take care of him without any difficulty.
Kevin was a good baby, slept all the time. I even had to wake him for his 2:00 am feeding. I did this for a few months because he was so small. I felt he should have all the nourishment he could get.
John was a good husband. He worked hard every day. He left early in the morning but was always home by supper. Jr. always looked forward to seeing him come home in the evening. I would face his wheelchair toward the door, and when he saw John come in, he would give out with a squeal and draw his legs up, then kick them out repeatedly and laugh. John would take off his work cap and put it on Jr.'s head and then everything would be all right. This routine went on every evening. John and Jr. were real pals.
We didn't go out very often. If we did, it was usually to my parent's house up the street. We didn't have a car at this time and with two babies it was difficult to go on a bus, so we just stayed home.
When Kevin went in for his three month's checkup, Dr. Moore examined him and pronounced him as healthy and normal as any three month old child. When I told John that night we were happier than you could possibly imagine. Life was beautiful; everything was perfect; at long last we had a normal healthy baby.
Our two-room apartment began to bulge at the seams. We had two baby beds, our bedroom suit and a living room suit all in one room. There was a three-room apartment up the street, so we moved up there. It was still crowded but more room than what we had before. We now live two doors from my parents' home which proved to be heaven-sent in the years that were to follow.
It was Fourth of July and we had our usual family picnic. Everything was perfect. On this holiday we all gather together at Mom's for a day of feasting, fun and frolic. There was my brother and his wife and children, my sister and her husband and children, John and I, Jr., Kevin, Mom and Dad and anyone else who happened to drop by.
Mom always furnished the meat and the rest of us would bring the dish we were most noted for. I made good potato salad, so that's what I contributed. My sister made the best corn pudding and my sister-in-law the cake. After a delicious meal that we all suffered for the rest of the day, we would get out the cards and have a good poker game that usually lasted the rest of the afternoon. The only interruptions were for a quick diaper change or a feeding for one of the babies. What fun we had on these good old days that were not to last for long. How we would have held on to these fun-filled moments if we knew what the future held.
The next day, July 5, Kevin had a fever and was vomiting some. I thought it was from the excitement of the previous day. I gave him some aspirin and thought he would be all right in a day or two, but by the third day, there was no improvement. He began to roll his head from one side to the other while sitting up in his stroller.
When he slept, he would lie perfectly still but his eyes were wide open. We knew then that something was dreadfully wrong. We rushed him to the emergency room at St. James's Hospital. They, in turn, told us to take him to a specialist. We did, and the doctor immediately sent Kevin to Children's Hospital. He diagnosed Kevin as having encephalitis or inflammation of the brain.
Mom drove me to the hospital as John was at work, and didn't know about this until he came home. He came to the hospital to meet me and we spent the evening there, giving Kevin's history and hoping to find out some news of him. He was put in the isolation nursery. He was behind a glass wall and all we could do was stand there and look at him. I couldn't even touch him. I wanted so badly to hold him in my arms. Was this illness going to be fatal? He was only seven months old and already was beginning his life of suffering.
The doctor wouldn't tell us anything for several days. Then one day he called us into his office. He said Kevin was having convulsions every few minutes and his head was swollen from some liquid that was accumulating there. Then the worse news of all: Kevin had only ten days to live.
While driving home, neither John nor I spoke a single word. The tears were streaming down my face and I bit my lips to try and hold it back. I knew John felt the same way, but being a man, he kept control of himself.
When we arrived hom, my aunt and uncle were at the house. They kept Mom and Jr. company while we were at the hospital. I knew they were waiting to hear the news of Kevin. I didn't say a word when I entered the house. I went up to Jr. and picked him up off my mother's lap and buried my face in his shoulder and cried uncontrollably. In the meantime, John went up to the corner grocery where my Dad worked and told him. Dad told me later, that John took it very hard but never once did he break down in front of me.
Kevin improved some but he lay near death for two months. He was still having convulsions but the liquid, that had made his head swell, had been drained. Something new was now occurring. Kevin's eyes would roll up and become fixed for a long period at a time. They would flicker and roll almost continually. How it hurt to see him suffer.
By now I was three months pregnant. How on earth could I take care of Jr. and now Kevin and a new baby on the way? Only time could answer that question.
(to be continued)
Kathy
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