We're almost there!

Where is that you may ask? Well, we are almost to that happy place where everyone in our house is healthy and not contagious. Pretty soon I won't even have to wear this mask any more when I'm around my baby (and then I'll be able to kiss on him as much as I want!)


Nice right? Yeah, our whole family has been wearing these masks, especially if they wanted to be anywhere near Drews. So, many of you are aware of all that's been going on in the MacKillop household the last 3 weeks. No, I'm not referring to the birth of our ever-so-perfect baby boy. I'm referring to the consecutive rounds of illness that have plagued us. It all started just 3 days after coming home from the hospital...and it hasn't stopped. Dave, Ella and Ava have all recovered nicely from their strep throat. Ella's sinusitis seems to be gone. Baby Drews hasn't had any more breathing episodes and his blotched up circumcision has healed nicely and looks normal (THANK HEAVENS!) Everyone's fevers are gone, and head colds seem to be cleared up. Me? Well, I'm getting there too. I woke up with pink eye yesterday morning but got some meds and that's already getting better. The dr put me on more antibiotics yesterday too. Mainly because she was a little concerned that after 2 weeks I am still running a low fever. Apparently if you don't get rid of all the scarlet fever, it can turn into rheumatic fever and cause heart valve problems. Nice, right? Long story short...more tests to make sure I'm healing as I should. So I'm sure all will be well soon. The doctor yesterday was much more informative than the dumb ER doctor that I saw before. The peeling I am experiencing from the rash is totally normal and can last several weeks (I did not know that). She prescribed some gel that helps to take the sting away. Dave took some pictures last week of my hands. Here's one (you can click on it to make it larger and see it more clearly)...



Yeah that big white spot on my thumb is a layer of skin that was just ready to come off. Gross, I know. At this point my hands have just about completely peeled and now there is just raw skin underneath. It burns but gets a little better each day as it toughens up. My feet just started peeling the same thick layers of skin. Luckily on my face, it's more like peeling from a mild sunburn. But my arms, chest, back, stomach, and legs are another story. In some places it hasn't started to peel yet. The skin is very dry and leathery looking. In other places, it is dry and it almost looks more like eczema. Some areas look (and feel) like I've been burned. But as long as I've healed from everything else, I think I can deal with this rash for a few more weeks. We really are doing better. Thank you to everyone for your prayers, well wishes, and everything else that has been done on our behalf. We've very much appreciated it and are looking forward to life returning to normal (if there is such a thing!)