Just when you think it's smooth sailing!

Everything was going well, kids were adjusting to their new classes and for Z a new school. Grades were exceptional and all was well...didn't even have sick kids the first couple of weeks of school (which is amazing!) D and I were excited because we had planned a weekend (Saturday afternoon til Sunday) away from the kids which had been 4 years since the last time that happened. The weekend before we were to leave A began to get sick. This did not worry us in the least because we thought it was a stomach bug...2 days tops right?? A stayed home Monday because she was throwing up, we decided to let her stay overnight at her grandma's house Monday evening because she was still running a low grade fever and was not ready to go back to school. Luckily the vomiting had ceased earlier in the day and figured that another day of rest would get her ready for school. Tuesday morning at 6 am we got a call from grandma stating A had terrible stomach pain on the right hand side of her tummy, had been moaning all night and wanted to take her to the ER. Since I had not seen her since the day before I was hesitant on her going. I am very much in-tuned with my kids and I know what's going on before most do, so I didn't want to jump the gun until I could see for myself. So I waited until the Dr.'s office opened and spoke with a nurse who stated that it would be the afternoon before she could be seen and that if she was in enough pain, she needed to go to the ER. It still wasn't good enough for me. I waited it out, checking on her every couple of hours to see how she was doing. She was regaining strength and by about 1pm, she was perky, wanted to vacuum the rugs and get her nails done, so I thought heck she's ready to go to school in the morning and thankful that I didn't overreact on taking her to the ER. When I got home that afternoon, Anna came home as well...I was hoping to get a smile, I missed you momma, and I'm ready to go to school....but that would not be the case.

When she arrived A got out of the car slowly and slumped over. Her grandma proceeded to tell me that about an hour before she came home she went downhill quick and was in worse pain than before. I was concerned, and after seeing her I knew something was not right. I called the Dr's. office again and explained her symptoms, to which they said "I would have thought the same thing (stomach virus) as you because we have had many calls regarding those exact symptoms, until you said she was hunched over". The nurse explained that it was my call to either take her to the ER or monitor her closely. D and I had spoken on the phone and I waited for his arrival to make the decision. We were trying to save money for our trip, but I knew that if we waited and did not take her we would be in big trouble while we were gone. After I told D that she went directly to her room and got in bed when she got home, he checked on her....she was basically non-responsive in and out of consciousness trying to sleep the pain away. After seeing her D was still a little hesitant about sending her, but agreed we needed to do something. So I took her...and prayed the wait would be minimal.

We got there a close to 6pm, and sat for maybe 2 minutes in the waiting room to be seen. When A was seen by a nurse and after listening to the questions she was asked I thought....woohoo! it's just a bladder infection...we'll be in and out of here in no time! Ha!! We were put into a room to await being seen and to wait for some lab work. Another nurse came in and pressed in 3 distinct areas on her belly and asked if it hurt. She pressed on the left side and it hurt, pressed in the middle, didn't hurt, pressed on the right and really hurt. After pressing on her the nurse asked me if I knew what we were trying to rule out, to which I said yes Appendix. After she agreed, she then stated that it was NOT something she ruled out. So a CT was ordered, Anna had to drink the apple juice that didn't taste like apple juice and we waited. The nurse wait we would wait 1 1/2 hours, we waited less than an hour and were in the CT room. We were not back in the room a minute and the Dr. came in and said "you know what we are here for right?" I said yes Appendix, he questioned "Oh, you already know?" I did a double take, and said know what? He said, her appendix are inflammed and we need to do surgery immediately! We just need to know if it will be local or if we'll have to send her to Houston. While I waited for the news the Dr. stated that if she had come in a day or so earlier they would have just treated her for the UTI that the tests showed she had and sent her on her way. WOW, what a God moment to know that we did what we needed to do at just the right time!

It was all coming so fast. I knew that this was a possibility, but the way everyone had talked I thought it was a bladder infection...to which that was also some of the problem. I was trying to get everything situated in my head...then everything hit me. Okay, if we had to go to Houston, D would be there with me know question...then who would watch the kids, how would they get from point A to point B? Scheduling is everything at our house and normalcy is explicitly important for J! It was coming at me at light speed at the strength of a Mack truck and I didn't know what to do! My phone was dead, Anna was now in a drugged sleep and I was alone with her in the room...and I broke down. I broke down at the idea of what if, I broke down at the not knowing of where we would be I broke down at the fact the my world was turning upside down with each passing minute and I was helpless. After a few seconds, I chastised myself for being vulnerable in front of my child who was also nervous about what was going on and not understanding the seriousness of it. The strange thing about all of this was that at no time was I concerned about her well-being, at no time was I concerned about the surgery or if anything would happen. At some point I knew that she would be okay, it was a calm in me that put me back together. As the nurse came in she asked if I needed a tissue to which I quickly said No! I pulled myself together and began planning until I knew more. I contacted people who I knew would be willing to help and knew my kids well enough that they wouldn't be overwhelmed with them. I looked at everyone I knew and their schedules and worked accordingly as I waited. A few minutes later, the nurse said there was a Dr. here that would take her surgery and 30 minutes later she was being wheeled into surgery.

Within all of that I had the kids schedules taken care of, D was with me. Before he came to the hospital I asked that he tell the other kids what was going on.  Z wasn't concerned because papa had surgery a few months before, but M was a different story. She cried because her sister was in trouble, she mourned at the fact that she had been hateful to her and now it was possible that she wouldn't see her again. I'm sure she had a thousand things running through her head, but her papa calmed her fears and let her know she could see her the next day. J was already asleep so he never knew anything happened. Surgery started around 10:15pm and we were going up to her room just after 11.

As we were waiting during surgery we had a couple of surprises. A couple of friends stopped by to stay with us until she was out of surgery. I cannot thank them enough for distracting us during this time, especially at that time of night! It was appreciated more than they'll ever know. We laughed and reminisced until we got the call that A was out of surgery. The Dr. then came out and explained that her appendix were gangrenous and had begun to leak which is why the surgery took longer than normal. Because of the leak they had to install a bell in her belly to ensure that everything that drained. He was not sure how long she'd be in the hospital but guaranteed at least 2 days. We asked if we could take her appendix home in a jar, but the Dr. said know that it is sent to a lab to be studied, but we could take a picture of it....so D did and it stunk! Luckily I was far enough away that I didn't smell it, but I took the Dr. and D's word on the matter.

Once A was in her room, I slipped away to gather some things from home and prepare for an over night with A. Once I was back D and I switched places and he went home to the kids and I stayed. D was the jack of all trades during our hospital time and I worked with A to get her back to health. It was painful for A. The first night was awful. When she needed to use the bathroom, there was no waiting! I cannot tell you how many times I yanked the IV plug from the wall and quickly turned it around the bed and helped A make it to the potty in time. Only once did she wet the bed because she couldn't make it in time. When that happened I assured her that it was okay and that I had extra clothing for her for this purpose.

The next day the nurse stated that she would need to get up and moving around, so we did. I made her walk 4 times a day around the floor because I knew that it would help and for a moment I was in a flashback in preparing J for life, revving him up to feed, making him work for everything he did....it was the same way with A. After she completed her first lap, the nurse gave her a bear for her accomplishment, which I thought was awesome! A was exhausted but not once did she cry! She would groan and moan when in pain, but never cry. After a good afternoon nap she was ready to receive company and she was showered with it! Her brothers and sister were excited to see her and were very attentive to her needs. The out pouring of love was seen during this time! Her teacher had A as a center assignment which every student colored, wrote, drew something for her and even gave up their coupons for her. It was amazing! She received gifts from family friends as well as family. She knew she was loved!

By the third day she was ready per the Dr. to be released, but this day was feared by A because she knew what had to happen before she went home....have the bell removed from her tummy! The bell was a nuisance for A, she hated it...but the knowledge of having at least 6 inches of tubing inside her stomach and knowing it had to come out was not something she looked forward to. Throughout all of this she had only cried for a couple of seconds to which was only done in frustration after walking. I wasn't sure how she would take this removal. I knew that A was a trooper, she had more inner strength than any kid I had ever seen her age. I knew that she was strong, but never had it been tested. So when it was time, I held on to her with both arms and blocked the view of what was going on. As the nurse counted she waited for A to say go and when she did, she screamed for a couple of seconds....stated "that hurt" and held on to me for a couple of seconds like a koala hugging a tree, then it was over. No tears, just went back to watch TV. Now let me express that the removal of this tube is very painful...a couple of nurses told me that it had made grown men cry and that no meds would help the situation. The nurse that removed the tube had even told a that she had just removed another from a grown man and it made him cry like a 2 year old...and here she was with no tears....AMAZING! And with that it was time to go home, and we did!

We got home Friday afternoon at 3:50 pm. We were so happy to be home! It felt good to be in our own beds and to have normalcy once again regain it's rightful place. A was told that she could not do physical activity for 2 weeks and couldn't lift anything until she saw the Dr. again. M was happy to help her in any way, everyone was happy to see her home and in much better spirits than before she left that Monday morning. We had the weekend to relax and prepare. J had an opportunity to regain his much needed schedule and people placement. Now 3 weeks later I can say that A is completely back to normal...quite honestly she was back to her old self by about Wednesday after she got home.

Needless to say we did not get that trip that we planned and even fear the idea of trying to leave again...simply because we have 3 others with appendix and we are afraid to take any chances! But through all of this we are a stronger family unit. We were able to see what was important, we were able to see who we could trust, who truly cared what was going on, etc. God did some miraculous things during that time and I wouldn't trade them for anything. Though we now await for each bill to come in, I am taken back to that week, knowing that I wouldn't change anything and to see so many wonderful highlights of that time. So very thankful that everything happened just at the right time, maybe not my timeline, but God's. I don't know why it happened during that time, but his ways are perfect and I know that it happened for a reason, but it did allow me to think....Just when you think it's smooth sailing, be ready for anything, because it's coming!