Gus and Maria Update - What a week!

So, let's start with a snapshot of this week's timeline:

HOW THE WEEK WAS PLANNED HOW THE WEEK REALLY WENT Sat/Sun Dust off RV that hadn't even been de-winterized yet Discovered water leaks in RV   Clean out van Nope   Do Laundry and start to pack for trip Barely Mon After work get more packing done Maria takes RV to repair shop Tues Maria does Carol's grocery shopping and we finish packing Maria does Carol's grocery shopping then picks up RV from repair shop and walks back in the door just before 3 PM burning up with fever. Christi drops everything for work early to take Maria to the ER. Maria has a fever of 102.6 upon arrival at ER. Maria is admitted to Christ Hospital with some sort of infection. Wed Start a lovely 5 day mini vacation weekend together as a family leaving early to arrive to Fort Wayne for Gus's 2 ABM lessons.  Christi takes Gus to Carol to be down to hospital by 7 AM to be there for doctor's rounds. Doctor says kidney seems to be doing all right but they don't know what's causing the infection. A couple days of IV antibiotics and fluids should patch her up. He said maybe she could even be out next day. Christi and Maria decide that Gus should still go up for his therapy so Christi and Gus leave town and make it for 1 ABM lesson that afternoon.  Thurs Do 2 ABM lessons in the morning and spend the afternoon at Fort Wayne Children's Zoo Maria still isn't able to eat or keep anything down - no discharge. Christi takes Gus for his 2 lessons and they go to the zoo missing Maria very much.      Christi lets Gus fall off the bed just before bedtime and takes him to the ER to make sure he doesn't have a concussion - he doesn't.      Carol's little wire-haired dachshund, Greta, starts to vomit blood and have difficulty breathing Fri Do last 2 ABM lessons of the week and then head over to the campground in Paulding to do a little fishing and catch up with our friends there Finish last 2 ABM lessons and drive straight home to find Greta has passed away. She had some sort of clotting thing going on. She was 14 yrs old.  Sat  Run around to the abundant garage sales and flea markets up in and around Van Wert, OH. Eat at the Ribs Festival. Look at all the cars at the car show at the campground.  Pack Gus back into the van while he cries and screams, "No, Ma!" and head down to the hospital where Maria is finally discharged. The tests indicate she has E. Coli which thank goodness wasn't quite as terrible as her last bout with that. She also has a UTI. Bring her home and get she and Gus settled in then run around and pick up various necessities and prescriptions.

So here we are on Sunday and I have one worn out little boy, one exhausted wife trying to recover, one grief-stricken mother in law, and a house in complete chaos with a million things to do. Oh, and the air conditioner stopped working at some point yesterday so the repair man is here now. But at least we have Maria home and she's doing better. On to some happier highlights from the week....

Gus really loved the zoo on Thursday. The Fort Wayne Children's Zoo is lovely. We walked through the loops for Africa and Indonesia, and rode the log ride through Australia before heading home for an early dinner. On our way out, we saw the train with all the people on it and I swear Gus said, "I want to go on that!" This kid comes out with sentences like that and then seems to never repeat it and refuses to say basics like More or Milk. I sure wish I understood more of how this language stuff works! Gus's favorites were the giraffes.

His ABM went well when he wasn't too tired and he did some nice things that are a definite improvement over previously. He's coming up on his hands so much better from both his stomach and while in sitting. That left arm and hand are especially noticeable in their improvement of this function.

He seems to be slowly catching on to the ways he can come up on his knees from his stomach. There's lots more work to do on this but it's so exciting to see him in a position that will lead to crawling!

Special thanks to those who came and visited Maria in the hospital this week while Gus and I were out of town! Very special gratitude to Annette who checked on her every day and stood at the ready to help in any way. We have a lot on our plates with Maria's health and Gus's CP but it's all manageable because of the support of our wonderful friends and family. We couldn't do it without you! Thank you so much for all the thoughts, positive energy, prayers, phone calls, Facebook messages, and gifts of your time this week and always! My team at work are also among our blessings. They are so understanding and accommodating through these situations. We have a lot to be thankful for and we are, indeed, thankful!