Family status

Hi, all! Just wanted to fill everyone in at once about how things went concerning my niece last week.

First, Jessie didn't show-up to turn-over custody of Charli on Wednesday as ordered. Matt had to go to Jemison and get the police involved. They (the police) threatened to arrest her for Interference with Custody of a Minor - a felony - along with her boyfriend before she would agree to turn the baby over.

Charli was running a fever when Matt finally got her. Mom and Matt took her to the doctor the next day and she'd lost almost 2 lbs, was very lethargic, and was running a fever. The doctor found a large abscess on her rear-end and determined that it was probably a staph infection. She recommended immediate hospitalization so that she could be treated with I.V. antibiotics. Matt and Mom brought her back to Gadsden and she was admitted into Gadsden Regional on Thursday.

Per the divorce decree, Matt notified Jessie Friday morning that Charli had been hospitalized. By the time she drove from Jemison with Patrick's mom, whom we ended-up having much in-common with, she was livid. (Of course, I can't tell her 'livid' from her 'normal' because I think she's just plain CRAZY!) Anyway, Jessie carried-on, alternating between crying and being furious with Matt. Finally that night, after the baby had a surgical procedure to remove the infected tissue, Jessie demanded that she be allowed to stay the night. Matt agreed, but with the stipulation that my mom stay as well. He said he didn't want to be alone in a room with her. She refused to stay if my mom stayed, so she left!

I was so proud of Matt for finally seeing that he's not responsible for keeping Jessie happy! His #1 concern has to be Charli and what's best for her. Obviously Jessie wasn't doing a good job taking care of her or she wouldn't have dropped from 23.6 lbs to 21.9 lbs in a months time. You see, Jessie decided when Charli threw her bottle in the trash can, that she was ready to go full-time to a sippy-cup. I mean, doesn't everyone know that a 15-month-old has the reasoning skills to say "I'm ready for a sippy, so I'll throw my bottle away!" LOL! Also, Charli had been running a fever for 4-5 days according to Jessie's future mother-in-law.

Charli was released from the hospital on Sunday. Dad and I did a once-over on the house with Clorox to try and wipe-out the MRSA. Unfortunately, I think it was already too late for me! I had a blister come-up on my index finger on my right hand and by Monday morning it looked bad. I went to the Dr. and am being treated for an MRSA, but we won't have the results back to know for sure until sometime this week.

Charli is happy to be home with her Daddy, G-Daddy, and MeMe! Keep us in your prayers for a little while longer!