Why Gideon is Jumping for JOY

One day, about a month ago, something normal and strange happened at the same time.  Our five-year-old, Gideon was jumping and he stopped to hold his head, “Ouch, that hurts my head.”  I thought it seemed a little strange, after all, the boys don’t stop jumping or moving for hardly anything…why should something so normal hurt him?  Maybe he had just bumped his head, I thought, and didn’t think twice until the next day when I saw him holding his head again.

“You okay, buddy?”  I asked him, I can’t remember a time in his whole five years he’d ever complained about anything other than a tummy-ache; so I was surprised when he said his head hurt again.  That night he had a low-grade fever but the next day, he was fine again.  Strange.

The same thing happened on and off for the next couple of weeks.  Every time I would think, “Okay, I’ll take him in to the clinic tomorrow if he is still in pain.”,  he would suddenly be fine the next day.  

Then last Monday morning, everything took a turn for the worse.  Gideon was running a fever again, holding his head in pain and was actually relieved (BIG shocker!) to take a nap.  Five hours (another shocker!) after he laid down, he was still out and I couldn’t wake him.  When he finally woke, he jumped out of bed only to hold his head again and exclaim, “OUCH!  That hurts my head to jump.”  He then laid on the couch, rocking back and forth as he held his head in agony.  

What in the world?! I thought. I had to find out what was going on so I called the nurse-line and they recommended we bring Gideon in to the hospital that evening.  Before we made it out the door, Gideon began throwing up and feeling even worse.

The doctor in urgent care seemed unsure of what was going on and ordered some more tests, including blood-work.  Gideon "gave" blood for the first time that day and was surprisingly very brave. When it was over, he said with a sigh: "Well, I'm sure Judah (his little brother) would have cried but I didn't...that is one reason I've been wanting to be five, because then you are brave. It's just because I'm five."  I smiled, it would take more than a little pain and a little poke to get this kid down.  When the blood-work came back with some signs of trouble, they began to look for the Big, Bad and the Ugly things.  Every day for the rest of that week held the same for Gideon: doctor visits, tests (including an MRI and a spinal tap) and finally, after the last test, a verdict.

There are two words I hadn’t wanted to hear that evening when we got the call…four words I never wanted to hear in the same sentence.  “Meningitis”, “sub-acute” (meaning he’d had it awhile) and “your son”.  The whole week I had physically been places but mentally, only one thing was on my mind…what’s going on with Gideon?  My husband and I were relieved to have an answer…but not relieved at what the answer may be.  I had heard meningitis could be treatable when caught early but I also knew that brain-damage and spinal-cord injury were associated with the disease.

Later that evening, when I was praying on shaky knees, I read a verse from the Psalm (103:1), “Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name.  Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all His benefits...”.  I knew that no matter what we are facing, it doesn’t change that God is still good and still worthy to be praised.  I wasn’t sure what we were up against, but knew we wouldn’t be alone.

Gid's little brother, Jude, HAD to go with his brother to every appointment & procedure!
 Here he is, waiting for Gid while playing a game.

A few hours later, more news came from our doctor that brought encouragement to our deflated spirits.  The strain of meningitis Gideon had was viral which meant it didn’t pose the same threat as bacterial (another reason I’m NOT a doctor or nurse…most of this information when it regarded my baby boy made me a little light headed!) and the fact that it was sub-acute meant it could be almost complete in it’s infection of Gideon’s body.  In fact, his white-blood count (the fighters of our body) were super high…he would be glad to know that his blood was acting like a super-hero inside him to fight the bad guys!  Mostly though, he was VERY happy to know he may not have anymore doctor test or pokes for awhile!

At last, the next day, the final piece of good news arrived.  Further testing reveled the viral strain in his spinal fluid was the safest strain of meningitis one could have.  In other words, if he had to get meningitis, he got the “best” kind!   It felt like Bob and I could BREATH again.

Every night that week, we had fallen asleep holding our boy as he fought off a fever or held his head in pain.  When he finally fell asleep, we would lie awake with The Silent Question (“What’s going on?!”) running through our mind.

That morning, we were exhausted but happy.  When Gideon and his brother were playing together later on, Gideon jumped and suddenly exclaimed, “Hey, that didn’t hurt!”  He grinned ear-to-ear and I held back tears of happiness.

The most simple thing: a five-year-old jumping, had a brand new joy to it!  In fact, as I watched him play, run, walk and talk that day, I realized there is NOTHING we should ever take for granted.  The most “simple” things could be gone in a moment at any time…life is truly fragile and each day God gives us is a precious gift.

So after today, Gideon isn’t the only one around here jumping for joy.

Note:  My husband and I thank God for the army of YOU ALL that stood with us in prayer these last few days which helped to bring us through this trial.  To God be the glory that the miracle of Gideon having the least of all possibilities with this temporary virus and for his healing.  Thank you SO much for your Love and Prayers so that we are able to freely Jump for Joy AGAIN! We believe Gid-man will be 100% very soon.