Read this version by Seth if you are wondering what happened but don't necessarily want all the "for posterity" details. It is a slightly modified version of an email he sent to his coworkers.
Kiersten and the kids were visiting my sister in Nashville this last weekend, giving me time to try and finish the defense draft of my dissertation which was due on Wednesday, Sept. 2nd. Benjamin, as most of you know, has had some severe allergies ever since he was born, and has to do a daily breathing treatment to help with his asthma. On Sunday night, Benjamin had a very severe asthma attack, was gasping for breath even after a breathing treatment, and was very drowsy because he was not getting enough oxygen into his blood stream. Kiersten took him to the emergency room of the local hospital, and during the next few hours the doctors ran a variety of tests and treatments to help Benjamin’s situation. In the end, the pediatrician there did not like the look of Benjamin’s oxygen levels and so he decided to transfer him to a Children’s Hospital in Nashville which was about 30 minutes away.
So in the middle of the night, Benjamin was transferred in an ambulance and was admitted to the Children’s Hospital where they ran another series of tests and procedures. In the morning, I decided to leave behind my dissertation and all my plans for the week and to go to be with my family. I spent Monday morning driving down there, and spent that afternoon and evening at Benjamin’s side allowing Kiersten to get some much needed rest.When I arrived, Benjamin looked terrible. He was on a medication that did not allow him to eat or drink anything, so he was very lethargic. But after a few hours, after the medication had worn off, they let him drink some water. A couple hours after that they let him resume eating. After he ate, he perked right up and was talking, playing with toys, and was his cheerful self once more. However, he stayed in the hospital a second night and they continued to give him breathing treatments every few hours.
By Tuesday morning, he was doing much better and was cleared to leave the hospital. We spent the rest of that day preparing to leave the hospital (we didn’t actually leave until lunchtime), preparing for the trip home, and driving back to Louisville. We pulled into our driveway about midnight. Wednesday was spent getting caught up on rest and getting settled back into normal life.
This whole ordeal has helped Kiersten & I to rethink some things. First of all, we are all the more thankful for the precious children that God has blessed us with, and we are thankful for the ways that God helped our family through this crisis. God was faithful to us in so many ways.
Secondly, we are no longer trying to get me to graduation as quickly as possible, no matter what the cost. Our family made a lot of sacrifices this last month as I was trying to meet the September 2nd deadline. We are now pulling back and slowing things down. It looks like I will be walking in May instead of December as we had hoped, but we feel that that is what is best for our family.
Thirdly, since we are taking a more moderate pace with my dissertation, we are moving ahead on some other projects, including a local move. The house we currently live in is 900 square feet, and our family is quickly outgrowing it. So if you are here in town and know of a good house for rent, please let us know.
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