The Bean Reunion that ALMOST WAS

We had wonderful Bean Reunion planned to go camping in Southern Utah. All 9 of my Dad's siblings would be there with their spouses and kids. Even my Aunt and Uncle+kids from Germany! I love that family and I was excited to have them finally meet Jake and Calvin.

But we never made it.
Instead, we spent the week at Dixie Regional Medical Hospital in St. George :(

We started the trip off hanging out with my immediate family in Orderville, Utah--a small town to hang out at just a few days before the BIG reunion. Everyone but Annelise and Andrew could make it. Annelise was finishing up her last weeks of her Undergrad degree at BYUI and Andrew was settling at his new job for Toyota in Torrence, CA. I guess they were preoccupied. ;)

We stayed at a Best Western Hotel (thanks Jake!) that was conveniently located on a golf course. The boys enjoyed playing everyday we were there. Even Calvin!

Some locals at church told us about a cool hike near our hotel that would be fun to check out. So we did! We weren't exactly sure where we were going, but we figured it out together.

The red rock was beautiful! Chris and Calvin took a moment to carve their initials into the rock.

We got to a point where the only way to continue was to climb up the rock using rope. With two small children and a pregnant lady, there was no way we could continue. But of course Calvin had to try.

So this is where we ended the hike (by default). Calvin was not too excited about that.

I was so impressed with Calvin. He hiked the whole way all by himself (~3miles there and back!). When Jake offered to help carry him, he refused. He was determined to do it all on his own. I didn't mind walking slow with him (especially since I was taking it easy). Calvin ended up sleeping the best afternoon nap while we watched the USA vs. Portugal World Cup game.

Since Orderville is such a small town, the options of places to eat were quite limited. However, we discovered a hidden gem up in Zion Mountain Ranch called The Buffalo Grill. The restaurant was located on a buffalo ranch where many animals (chickens, ducks, horses, etc.) were roaming the land while we ate a fancy dinner. It was the perfect place to enjoy a nice meal while letting Calvin explore his surroundings.

We had a delightful time in Orderville. But it was soon time to head up to the campsite to meet up with the rest of the Bean clan for the BIG family reunion. 

The night before, I woke up in the middle of the night with ANOTHER fever. All weekend, I had been struggling with: 

1) fevers

2) breathing
I was having trouble taking a full breath without coughing. Overall, I was feeling fine. I figured I couldn't breathe as well due to the combination of being pregnant and being at a high altitude.

The morning of the reunion, I visited the local Physician's Assistant. We discovered that my oxygen level was low; equivalent to a smoker who smokes two packs a day. Obviously my issues with breathing was more than just being pregnant. The PA strongly recommended that I get a CT scan to see what was wrong with my lungs. She was guessing that it could be pneumonia or even a blood clot, but I wouldn't be able to know without the scan.

So Jake and I headed to Dixie Regional Medical Hospital in St. George while my family headed to the Bean Reunion with Calvin. We would be 4 hours away from each other!

After reviewing the results from my CT scan, I was admitted to the ER and placed with a mask. A pulmonologist pulled up my CT scan and showed us that my lungs were peppered with spots throughout each lung. This could be many things: bacteria, virus, fungi. But we wouldn't know what it was or how to treat it until MORE testing was performed.

I spent 5 days at the hospital on various antibiotics and drugs to treat a bunch of possible bacteria, viruses, and fungi. A medical team including a primary doctor, pulmonologist, infectious disease specialist, and a high risk maternal/neonatal specialist all ordered various tests and watched me carefully. I felt extremely well taken care of. 

Fortunately, the doctors ruled out anything contagious. Unfortunately, they still didn't have a conclusive answer. They were guessing that I had Coccidioidomycosis (aka Valley Fever). But the results wouldn't be available for about 6 weeks. 

My doctors had never worked with Valley Fever before, so they were dealing with unknown territory. Case studies that they did read about didn't end up with a good result, especially for pregnant women. 

Coccidioidomycosis is a fungus in the dirt that is found in two locations of the entire US: 

1) San Joaquin Valley of California (where Jake and I grew up) and 

2) Phoenix, Arizona valley (where we currently live). 

Knowing this, the doctors were pretty confident that I did have Valley Fever. I was discharged with the assignment to meet with the Valley Fever specialist in Phoenix ASAP. 

Although this entire experience was not so fun (especially on vacation), I was grateful that Jake was available to be by my side and Calvin was well taken care of under the wings of my parents. Calvin had a BLAST camping with my extended family. When he came to visit me in the hospital, he was covered with dirt! After he took a quick shower, he came and snuggled with me. We were so happy to be reunited.

Weeks later, back in Phoenix, it was confirmed that I did have colonies of Coccidioidomycosis in my lungs and blood. It feels good to know what's wrong and have a treatment plan in place.

Although this has been tough, there are so many things to be grateful for...

I'm grateful that Jake has really good health insurance to cover our 22K+ medical bill!!

I'm grateful for my Mom, our family ER nurse, who encouraged me to get checked out and was a great resource for medical advice. 

I'm grateful for my Uncle Greg, my OBGYN family doctor. Thank you for making connections with doctors in the St. George area to make sure I had the best medical care possible for me and the baby.

I'm grateful for my cousin Jason driving up the mountain side like a maniac to help my Mom and Uncle Greg find cell phone reception in order to communicate with me. His speed racing skills were quite handy!!

I'm grateful for the many prayers that my family said for me at the family reunion. I was definitely comforted during a trying time.

I'm grateful for the priesthood. I'm grateful that Jake, Uncle Greg and my Dad could step up as worthy priesthood holders to give me a blessing of health for me and the baby. Many things were said in that blessing that gave me great comfort and guidance during many medical decisions.

And I'm grateful that our baby BOY is doing perfectly fine. The last day we were in the hospital, an ultrasound was performed to evaluate the baby's anatomy. During that time we found out that we're having another boy!! Yay for healthy baby and for another boy!