I had my doubts about Leah having her tonsillectomy last Friday. We had originally had it scheduled for the beginning of June last year, but after the accident, there was no way it was going to happen. Then she kept getting sick so we scheduled it again for Christmas break. But I was still not in an emotional state to see one of my children go through trauma again so we canceled it. Then she kept getting sick through the spring and we knew that it had to be done. I wanted her to get to go to camp but also have time at home to recover and enjoy the end of her summer as well before heading back to school. So we scheduled it for last Friday.
I had picked her up from camp the day before and she was on cloud 9. She had the best time meeting new friends and growing closer to God. She talked my ear off the whole way home. It was so wonderful to see her so happy. But in the back of my mind, I kept thinking, “She is so well and after tomorrow she is going to be so sick.” I really didn’t want to do it but I knew it needed to be done so she could stop getting so sick so often.
The day of the surgery, we came home and she was ok. She didn’t feel that well but we managed to get a little food and water in her and I prayed so hard that she would have a quick recovery. I knew God didn’t want me to suffer anymore and He would pull her through without much trouble. But Saturday morning she woke up sick to her stomach and had over 102-degree fever. The waters began to rise up to my knees. I got her to the ER and they gave her an IV and took some blood and after about 4 hours she had perked up and lab results were good so they sent us home. “Ok, God,” I thought, “We had to hit a little bump but I know that now you will help her get well fast.” Joel was leaving for camp on Sunday for the week and I was sure that she was going to be fine.
And she did improve for a few days. By Tuesday she was eating better and enjoying time outside. But Wednesday came. She didn’t sleep well the night before and so I let her sleep for a while that morning to get plenty of rest. She woke up around midday and started screaming. I was terrified, I had no idea what was wrong. She was holding her head and freaking out and I was helpless. Her ears and jaws had started hurting. This is a normal thing, and once I got out of her what was wrong, I tried to help her get through it. It took me just holding her for about 5 minutes while the pain was at its worst, then she could calm down and manage. This went on all through Wednesday, that night, and all day Thursday. The waters were rushing in again and covering me up to my waist. But by Thursday night the pain was lessening and I thought we were out of the woods again.
Then there was blood.
She woke up like usual in the middle of the night Thursday night in pain and I went in to help her drink some water and take some meds. But when I roused her I saw dark spots on her face. I immediately turned the lights on and saw red everywhere. Spots all over her bed, clothes, pillow, and face. I freaked out. The flood waters were up to my chest. I got her in the car immediately and took her to the ER. (I did call my sister-in-law for help to watch the kids that were still in bed.) By the time we got to the hospital her bleeding had stopped. The doctor thought she was fine, her blood work they took looked great and they sent us back home. But I kept thinking, “God, why is this still happening? Why is she still suffering? Please heal her quickly!”
Friday was a much better day. She was up playing and goofing around and I just thought, “Ok, now it’s over. We are on the downhill path.” Joel came home from camp, we were all together again, life was getting better.
Then there was blood, again.
Friday night she woke up 3 times bleeding. I didn’t freak out because I had read up and realized that it was just her scabs coming off and stitches coming out and it was normal. By Saturday morning, after the third bout of bleeding, I called the doctor to make sure all was still good. He said he would like to look at her and asked me to meet him at his office so we didn’t have to fool with going to the ER yet again. I thought this was a great solution and felt better about it. I had no sooner hung up the phone, that Leah woke up again. But this time, well, I won’t go into detail but it was so scary it looked like the scene in a horror movie where the zombie had gotten ahold of its prey. (Leah’s take on the bloody scene.)
That was it, I was completely under the water. I called the doctor, he met us at the ER and sent her into surgery. She had to have several places cauterized again to stop the bleeding and we had to spend the night in the hospital.
Fighting Fire with Light 