family beach trip and the aftermath

I had always thought that Lucas's first hospital stay would be because of a broken arm or leg. Never in a million years did I think that he would be admitted for a bacterial infection in his foot.

On Sunday, we decided to beat the heat and head to the beach. Originally, the plan was to take the train to San Clemente, however due to a mechanical break down we barely made it out of our zip code before the train was towed back to the station. We were disappointed; however still determined to go to the beach. Luckily for us, we live close enough to just drive.

It was the perfect day for the beach. While Alara and I relaxed under the shade of our umbrella, my husband and Lucas played in the sand, climbed on rocks and splashed around in the shallow water. The only indication of what was to come was when Lucas climbed off one rock fussing about an owie on his foot. My husband checked him noting that a small scab had been scratch off on his left foot.

We ended the day on a positive note. Nothing seemed amiss.

It wasn't until around bedtime (7:30ish) that we noticed something wrong with his right foot. The foot was swollen and he had a fever. My husband feared that maybe while playing on the rocks Lucas had sprained or broken something and decided to take him to urgent care. At urgent care, the doctor ruled out a sprain or break. Lucas was given two shots - one in each leg - to help with the swelling and a prescription for antibiotics. 

The next morning, I took Lucas to see his regular doctor for a follow up appointment. His fever was down, but the swelling had increased. Concern about the increased swelling and its location, the doctor put in an order for Lucas to be admitted to the hospital for further observation and treatment.  

I called my husband and he came home from work. Alara had a scheduled well-baby exam the same time that Lucas was suppose to be checking into the hospital. Torn between which child to go with, we decided that I would go to Alara's exam and my husband would go with Lucas. 

Lucas had to stay in the hospital for about twenty-four hours. I'm grateful that between my husband, Dadi and Dada someone was able to stay with him the entire time. Although I spent several hours in the afternoon, and later in the evening with Lucas the idea of me not being there with him was hard. I felt torn. On one hand I knew that I couldn't stay overnight at the hospital with Alara - a newborn...but on the other hand I didn't want to leave Lucas. He looked so small in his hospital bed. Yes, my husband was with Lucas...and perfectly capable of taking care of him... but my Mother's heart still wished that I could be in two places at once. Thankfully, Lucas's stay was short and he was able to come home the next morning with a clean bill of health.