Sick.

Well, folks. I was wrong. Gavin's recovery was only temporary and he has now been sick, complete with diarrhea and vomiting, for 10 days. I took him back to the doctor this morning and the doctor wanted to run some tests on Gavin's stool.

You're not going to believe this, but they need actual SAMPLES of stool (aka diarrhea, aka stinky noxious poo juice) to run the tests. Ok, so maybe that wasn't such a surprise. The real surprises were that, 1) I needed to fill each of THREE sample vials with ~2 tablespoons of watery icky poo, and 2) there couldn't be any diaper fibers in the sample. How does one collect a poo sample from a toddler without getting any diaper fibers in it? Naturally, you line the diaper with Saran Wrap. What? Um, ok... I don't keep Saran Wrap on hand so I improvised and used Press-n-Seal, whose name is now meaningless to me (read on). A few hours later it was finally time for sample collection. I knew this because icky poo juice was practically squirting out the ends (front and back) of Gavin's diaper. There is nothing "sealed" about the plastic-lined diaper arrangement. I managed to fill 2 vials but accidentally spilled the liquid preservative in the third vial (not to mention I ran out of sample material). The rest of the story is complicated and I'm sure after a few weeks have gone by both Brandon and I will reflect on it as humorous. However it still feels more traumatic than funny. I will try to be brief.

By the time the first 2 samples were collected and Gavin and I were cleaned up it was time for me to leave for my own doctor's appointment. Brandon was planning to be home early to hang out with Gavin while I went to the doctor, but he got hung up in a meeting and due to phone misplacement I didn't know that he was running 30 minutes late until I was already running 10 minutes late. I found my phone, threw Gavin (equipped with a fresh plastic-lined diaper) and our 2 samples in the car and headed for the hospital. In my haste I forgot the diaper bag. Brandon arrived at the hospital and rushed up to the doctor's office where he found me in the exam room holding Gavin and about 40 paper towels. Hurray! Not only did we have the third sample (ready for extraction), but we were already at the hospital where the lab was, AND Brandon was here to take Gavin and all the samples AWAY (er, I mean to the lab). Poor Brandon had to first find the lab, and then ask the mean lab lady for a fresh sample collection vessel and then find a place to collect the sample and get everything cleaned up without having a fresh diaper or any wipes. He did it, though, and that's one more reason why he's my hero. Stay tuned for test results (1 to 3 days).