So, I had every intention of coming home yesterday and sharing my happy moments at the Time Out For Women conference in Arlington Texas that I attended. I attended Friday night and the song was "Be Still My Soul" played by the most talented violinist I have ever heard. Brad Wilcox could not be there because he was attending his mother's funeral, so they sent John Bytheway to speak to us. It was all about tribulation and trials and how to have a good attitude knowing our day of rest from trials will come...in this life or the next. Then something happened....
I got tired, my feet hurt, the chair was uncomfortable, so I went back to my comfy hotel to rest up for the next day's conference...so I missed one speaker that night. On a fun note, on my way to my room, I was in the elevator with lots of players from TCU and they won their football game on Saturday...really nice guys and all taller than me! That is what I called a "tall girl happy moment"!
So then Saturday rolls around, and for some reason, I felt very strongly that I needed to NOT go to the conference, but stay in bed, order room service, and rest...sounds weird but I will get there (God gives you tiny pieces of the puzzle and you look back and see the whole picture after the trial I have learned) Also, as John Bytheway put it, we are like a big cross stitch...God is cross stitching our lives and all we can see is the messed up bottom of the cross stitch, but God can see the masterpiece work of art he is creating from above! So after I had a lazy morning and felt REALLY rested, I met my family for lunch and then we went to Joel's soccer game. Joel only played for 15 minutes but he played so well...he told us he didn't feel very well at lunch and then at the game he said he felt worse. So we came home and he went upstairs to rest. Last night was rough getting the kids to bed and Joel was moaning that he had a really bad tummy ache. Something inside me remembered a book I had read a few years back called Heaven is For Real. About a boy who had appendicitis, but his parents thought it was the flu or food poisoning and brushed it off until his appendix burst and he had emergency surgery, died, and came back to life. So I told David last night, "If he throws up, I am taking him to the ER because I think he might have appendicitis." My very logical husband was sure it was just food poisoning or something, but just minutes later, we heard Joel running around and found that he HAD thrown up. So off we went to an urgent care/ER because we haven't been to a REAL ER here yet and I didn't want to wait for hours and hours if it really just WAS food poisoning. So Joel got tested with a CT scan, blood work, and doctor visit.....and he was transferred to a hospital, and given an IV with antibiotics, and given a scheduled OR visit for the next morning. And from about midnight to 3 AM, we sat with him, David left, and I slept in Joel's bed with him to keep him company. So there it is...for me there is the reason WHY some unexplained voice inside me said, "Don't go to this conference, rest up, get some more sleep and relax." If I had gone to the conference, it would have been good, but I would have been tired from sitting all day and walking to and from the conference center...remember my RA is NOT in remission and is in full swing right now so stressful moments or long days really wear me out.
Sunday-we woke up and Joel was still in a lot of pain. We headed down to the surgery place, met with the doctor and OR nurse and anesthesiologist...that's right...I spelled it right the first time w no spell check! I had told Joel all that would happen...after all...in my previous 365 day blog how many times did I write about my little ritual about what I did, what happens right before they put the mask on, the white goo they inject to make you feel happy before surgery...I knew it all and I tried the best I could to prepare my son for it. It was a ROUGH morning my readers. There were many tears shed as I waited in line to purchase my hot chocolate and pumpkin scone at Starbuck's in the local Kroger while Joel was in surgery. There were many heartfelt talks with David. We even joked that, "yea, I was right, Joel did have appendicitis." Worst time to be RIGHT ever! But that my mommy senses worked and that was a good thing because Joel got his appendix out and is hopefully on the mend this evening. Once again, we found ourselves in a hospital. But we knew what to do, the nurses told us we were some of the best patients and patient's parents they had ever had (we didn't tell them this was not our first rodeo, but David and I just looked at one another and smiled). We knew that being kind to the nurses and doctors, being calm and patient, it would all pay off. Someone said on Facebook how strong and positive I am...read the previous blogs...I wasn't always...I was MADE to be that way...surgery...after surgery...after surgery...what I wouldn't have given to have it been ME on that operating table today. But I couldn't be, so I did what I could to help my little boy not be scared.
So praying that Joel can come home tomorrow and that he can heal up. Once again I find myself truly grateful for this blog. I am able to sit down at the end of a very LONG weekend and find the joy and see the happy moments through my sleepy haze. Hopefully my trial will help someone else. That is always my hope that when people experience emotional difficulties, that others can learn from them, not just the person, but others around them. I feel so amazingly blessed this evening to live where we live and have the friends that we do. Facebook was lit up with prayers and positive thoughts tonight. I shared each one with Joel and it was so nice to see his little face smile a bit and find the joy in the love that people shared for him. I count my blessings tonight and I have many. Good night all!
I got tired, my feet hurt, the chair was uncomfortable, so I went back to my comfy hotel to rest up for the next day's conference...so I missed one speaker that night. On a fun note, on my way to my room, I was in the elevator with lots of players from TCU and they won their football game on Saturday...really nice guys and all taller than me! That is what I called a "tall girl happy moment"!
So then Saturday rolls around, and for some reason, I felt very strongly that I needed to NOT go to the conference, but stay in bed, order room service, and rest...sounds weird but I will get there (God gives you tiny pieces of the puzzle and you look back and see the whole picture after the trial I have learned) Also, as John Bytheway put it, we are like a big cross stitch...God is cross stitching our lives and all we can see is the messed up bottom of the cross stitch, but God can see the masterpiece work of art he is creating from above! So after I had a lazy morning and felt REALLY rested, I met my family for lunch and then we went to Joel's soccer game. Joel only played for 15 minutes but he played so well...he told us he didn't feel very well at lunch and then at the game he said he felt worse. So we came home and he went upstairs to rest. Last night was rough getting the kids to bed and Joel was moaning that he had a really bad tummy ache. Something inside me remembered a book I had read a few years back called Heaven is For Real. About a boy who had appendicitis, but his parents thought it was the flu or food poisoning and brushed it off until his appendix burst and he had emergency surgery, died, and came back to life. So I told David last night, "If he throws up, I am taking him to the ER because I think he might have appendicitis." My very logical husband was sure it was just food poisoning or something, but just minutes later, we heard Joel running around and found that he HAD thrown up. So off we went to an urgent care/ER because we haven't been to a REAL ER here yet and I didn't want to wait for hours and hours if it really just WAS food poisoning. So Joel got tested with a CT scan, blood work, and doctor visit.....and he was transferred to a hospital, and given an IV with antibiotics, and given a scheduled OR visit for the next morning. And from about midnight to 3 AM, we sat with him, David left, and I slept in Joel's bed with him to keep him company. So there it is...for me there is the reason WHY some unexplained voice inside me said, "Don't go to this conference, rest up, get some more sleep and relax." If I had gone to the conference, it would have been good, but I would have been tired from sitting all day and walking to and from the conference center...remember my RA is NOT in remission and is in full swing right now so stressful moments or long days really wear me out.
Sunday-we woke up and Joel was still in a lot of pain. We headed down to the surgery place, met with the doctor and OR nurse and anesthesiologist...that's right...I spelled it right the first time w no spell check! I had told Joel all that would happen...after all...in my previous 365 day blog how many times did I write about my little ritual about what I did, what happens right before they put the mask on, the white goo they inject to make you feel happy before surgery...I knew it all and I tried the best I could to prepare my son for it. It was a ROUGH morning my readers. There were many tears shed as I waited in line to purchase my hot chocolate and pumpkin scone at Starbuck's in the local Kroger while Joel was in surgery. There were many heartfelt talks with David. We even joked that, "yea, I was right, Joel did have appendicitis." Worst time to be RIGHT ever! But that my mommy senses worked and that was a good thing because Joel got his appendix out and is hopefully on the mend this evening. Once again, we found ourselves in a hospital. But we knew what to do, the nurses told us we were some of the best patients and patient's parents they had ever had (we didn't tell them this was not our first rodeo, but David and I just looked at one another and smiled). We knew that being kind to the nurses and doctors, being calm and patient, it would all pay off. Someone said on Facebook how strong and positive I am...read the previous blogs...I wasn't always...I was MADE to be that way...surgery...after surgery...after surgery...what I wouldn't have given to have it been ME on that operating table today. But I couldn't be, so I did what I could to help my little boy not be scared.
So praying that Joel can come home tomorrow and that he can heal up. Once again I find myself truly grateful for this blog. I am able to sit down at the end of a very LONG weekend and find the joy and see the happy moments through my sleepy haze. Hopefully my trial will help someone else. That is always my hope that when people experience emotional difficulties, that others can learn from them, not just the person, but others around them. I feel so amazingly blessed this evening to live where we live and have the friends that we do. Facebook was lit up with prayers and positive thoughts tonight. I shared each one with Joel and it was so nice to see his little face smile a bit and find the joy in the love that people shared for him. I count my blessings tonight and I have many. Good night all!
No comments:
Post a Comment