When I last posted, it was 2019, and we were still a family of 4. The original plan for my first post of 2020 was to be a birth announcement, talking about how great Megan did during labor and introducing Jonah David Leong to the world. But, sometimes things don't go to plan. Here he is, by the way...
Our family went up to SoDak for Christmas. It was supposed a year where we went to SoDak for Thanksgiving and California for Christmas but since Jonah was born around Thanksgiving, we stayed home for Thanksgiving. Then, since Jonah was too young to fly, we did SoDak for Christmas. The original plan was to leave early on Christmas Eve but Ezra had a fever in the morning so we didn't get to leave until the afternoon. Still, we made it up there with no problem and got to spend time with Megan's parents and her sisters and their families. While up there, I got a call from my dad saying he had to travel to Lincoln for a job and was hoping to stop by right after the first of the year to visit us and meet Jonah. The original plan (noticing a theme here?), was for our friend Julie to come into town those same days but thankfully, we have the rooms so they could both be here. The original plan (there it is again!) was for us to head home on Saturday but a winter storm was coming, so we left on Friday after dinner. Thankfully, we missed all the weather.
You may be wondering why Julie was coming into town. Well, the original plan was for her to come and help out with the kids while I was in Orlando for National Staff Conference. Every 3 years, all the staff for InterVarsity gather together for a time of fellowship, learning, exhortation, and re-visioning what's next for our movement. Only full-time staff are required to go, so I was on the hook but Megan is part-time (and still on maternity leave), so she was staying. But, the prospect of her riding solo for a almost a week while Jonah was barely a month old was not promising, so we asked Julie to come in from St. Louis to help out.
Here's where it gets (even more) interesting. The original plan was for me to fly out early on the 2nd, for Julie to fly in during the late morning on the 2nd, and for my dad to show up later in the afternoon on the 3rd. I would get back from Orlando on the 6th and wait at the airport so my dad can drop off Julie and I'll take the car since they both were flying out Monday afternoon.
But sometimes things don't go according to the original plan. The day after we got back, Jonah started coughing and had some congestion. We sucked out his nose and took turns staying up with him since he slept better when he was upright. On Monday, Megan took him to the doctor and we were told to keep doing what we were doing. On Tuesday, we took him to the doctor again for a second check-up and were told that he was actually doing much better. On Wednesday (New Year's day), I was out in the morning with a migraine (Happy New Year to me...) but Jonah was actually a little bit worse. Megan took him to urgent care in the afternoon and I got the call that Jonah's oxygen levels were low and that they were headed to the emergency room. I called up a friend and his roommate (another friend of ours) was able to come over and watch the kids so I could meet Megan at the ER. After a few hours there, they decided to admit Jonah to the hospital.
I cancelled my flight to Orlando and made sure all the folk I was meeting with knew I wasn't going to be there.
So, here was the new plan:
- Wednesday night, I ran back to the house to grab some clothes for Megan, delivered those, then relieved our friends of her kid watching duties, spending the night with the older 2 while Megan and Jonah stayed at the hospital, including a trip to PICU when his oxygen levels dropped big time.
- Thursday, I took the older kids to daycare (actually part of the original plan!), picked up Julie from the airport, and spent time at the hospital. I picked up the kids from daycare, took care of dinner, got them into bed, then went back to the hospital to watch Jonah so Megan could sleep for a few hours. At the midnight feeding, I woke up Megan, went back home, and went to bed.
- Friday, I got the older kids up and did the breakfast thing. Then I went to the hospital to help Megan with Jonah while Julie watched the older kids. Megan also visited home for a bit, which was nice. My dad got off his job and went to our house but had to return his rental car to the airport, so I met him at home, followed him to the airport, and took him him. We did dinner at home and I put the kids to bed before heading back to the hospital so Megan could nap. Again, I stayed until the midnight feeding then came home.
- Saturday, I did breakfast with the older kids again, then went to the hospital to be with Megan and Jonah. Jonah at this point was doing great and we were discharged, so we could all go home and spend the weekend together.
As you can see, very little went according to the original plan. Even inside the adjusted plan, things went awry. On Friday, my dad wanted to buy us dinner so I figured he'd like the best fried chicken in Omaha. When we got there, it was closed! Apparently the owner of that restaurant died on Christmas day...
Friends, in the midst of all these changing plans, I was reminded of God's goodness. So many things didn't go according to plan but worked out just fine. We never wanted Jonah to get sick or go to the hospital (it was RSV, by the way, and he needed oxygen and regular suction to help him breathe), but we're so thankful that it happened when it did. Could you have imagine what would have happened if things happened a day later and I was already in Orlando?
God has reminded us of his goodness in the midst of all this. We're so thankful that Julie was coming into town already so the logistics were made easier. Having my dad in town meant that we had an extra set of hands (and delicious food too). So many of our friends offered to bring us meals and to watch the kids. We're humbled by all the generosity we've seen these past few days, for sure.
Right now, Jonah is sleeping next to me, snoring a little bit. He had a follow-up checkup yesterday and things are looking great. It wasn't part of the original plan, but I'd say things worked out OK.
Oh, and before I forget, I want to make it VERY CLEAR that Megan was the all-star of this whole ordeal. I may have been driving back and forth running errands and feeding the older kids, but it was Megan who stayed at the hospital with Jonah the whole time. She rocked it.
Have an excellent day!
~Adam
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