The Sweetest Sound...
As I sit here in the sunshine writing this blog I hear all kinds of beautiful noises; birds singing, children laughing while having a water fight...the kinds of noises that aren't noise pollution but rather are the ones that lift our souls to great heights and make our lives a song. But the one sound I have heard recently was more beautiful then any of these; it was the sound of my daughter's voice.
This past long weekend, we decided to take a trip to visit my husband's parents. While we were there our daughter, Mo, developed terrible pains in the lower right quandrant of her stomach. The pains lasted all through the night and on Sunday morning she had a slight, pea sized swelling on her belly. It looked like maybe it was a hernia. After a few hours, I palpated her stomach and not only was the lump gone but her tummy made a huge gurgling sound when I pressed on it. The pain didn't subside so I took her to the ER in this little city we were visiting. The doctor guess-timated that it was a hernia and told us that I had probably pushed it back in and that she'd get better soon. Well...she didn't. The pain continued to worsen so later that evening I took her back to the ER. The doctor basically told us that he had no idea what it could be since she wasn't behaving totally like someone suffering from appendicitis, yet she was in an awful lot of pain for something like maybe cysts on her ovaries or a pulled groin muscle. This little town hospital has no diagnostics like a lab or ultrasound so the doctor was basically flying blind when he offered us Tylenol 3's for the pain and absolutely no answers.
Apparently that was pretty much the tone of how the rest of Mo's illness was going to pan out. So...to continue...Mo suffered in pain all Sunday night. She writhed uncontrollably even through a dose of two Tylenol 3's combined with Gravol. When we awoke Monday morning we loaded the family in the van and headed home to our city as fast as we could. As soon as we got to our hospital ER Mo was admitted and the blood tests and the ultrasounds began. So did the pain medications. It took three different types before they finally settled on using morphine. MORPHINE!!! For a 12 year old!!! It was the only thing that reduced the pain from an 8.5 (on the 1-10 pain scale) to a 4. (She remained on morphine every 2.5 to 3 hours from Monday until Thursday night.)
The ultrasound was inconclusive...they couldn't find her appendix! I didn't know at the time what was going on but was absolutely terrified to see the ultrasound technician, the surgeon, and the radiologist with their faces pressed against the screen, pointing at things and whispering amongst one another. I asked a question at one point and the surgeon just held up a finger to shush me. I felt sick...I thought for sure they had discovered something terrible like a tumor or lack of a uterus or something! As it turns out, they were just searching for her little appendix.
Since the tests were no help they decided to observe her on a day to day basis and to see if anything developed. For two days the pain remained constant, and inexplicable. Finally she developed a slight fever and an elevated heart rate and that was all the surgeon needed. He booked her for an appendectomy although he couldn't be sure that it was her appendix causing all the trouble.
Wednesday night she went in for surgery and we hoped that the surgeon would find a large, swollen appendix...something to explain the pain. He didn't. He told us that hers was 'the most unassuming appendix he'd ever seen.' It was healthy but peculiarly small and was attached to the back of her large intestine (which explains why they couldn't find it on the ultrasound). Could that have been the problem? The doctors say 'no' but in my heart I think it couldn't have been helping the situation. So, the final diagnosis was that she probably had a virus and that her lymph nodes were swollen and leaky and that's why she had fluid in her intestinal cavity and such pain.
I can't describe how sad we felt when we discovered that our beautiful little girl had to undergo a needless surgery. As a parent you feel like you've let your child down and that you haven't served her best interests. You feel like you should have fought harder and yet you know that you're not equipped with the medical information required to make that argument. The doctors know best don't they? They've seen cases like this before haven't they? Who are we to dispute it, especially when our daughter has been in terrible pain for four solid days with no reprieve? Broken hearted was how we felt. But Mo wasn't bitter, wasn't angry, wasn't even the least bit ticked off! She just accepted the situation for what it was and said she was glad to know that her appendix wasn't ever going to be an issue again! She presented us with a great perspective and she's an amazing role model.
On Friday (less than 40 hours after surgery) she came home. I had been with her every night but Hubby stayed with her Thursday night so that I could go to Zee and Kiki's school sports day on Friday morning. I had planned to go to the sports day, take a couple of pictures and then head up to the hospital to see Mo and let Hubby get to work. As I was walking home from the school I saw Hubby's car in our driveway and when I opened the front door of the house I heard Mo calling out "Hello" to me. It was the sweetest sound! I told her that no sound has filled me with more happiness in my life than the sound of her little sweet voice calling to me from the family room. I think it was even sweeter to me than her first newborn cry. Mo and I held each other and shed tears of happiness.
Our family has really been tested in the last month and a bit. I think we've all come away from it a little more seasoned, a little more appreciative, a little more of a TEAM and a little more in love with one another. My family is my world. I am so grateful for every minute we have together.
Life is so very precious....
...and so are the words, "I'm home!"
This past long weekend, we decided to take a trip to visit my husband's parents. While we were there our daughter, Mo, developed terrible pains in the lower right quandrant of her stomach. The pains lasted all through the night and on Sunday morning she had a slight, pea sized swelling on her belly. It looked like maybe it was a hernia. After a few hours, I palpated her stomach and not only was the lump gone but her tummy made a huge gurgling sound when I pressed on it. The pain didn't subside so I took her to the ER in this little city we were visiting. The doctor guess-timated that it was a hernia and told us that I had probably pushed it back in and that she'd get better soon. Well...she didn't. The pain continued to worsen so later that evening I took her back to the ER. The doctor basically told us that he had no idea what it could be since she wasn't behaving totally like someone suffering from appendicitis, yet she was in an awful lot of pain for something like maybe cysts on her ovaries or a pulled groin muscle. This little town hospital has no diagnostics like a lab or ultrasound so the doctor was basically flying blind when he offered us Tylenol 3's for the pain and absolutely no answers.
Apparently that was pretty much the tone of how the rest of Mo's illness was going to pan out. So...to continue...Mo suffered in pain all Sunday night. She writhed uncontrollably even through a dose of two Tylenol 3's combined with Gravol. When we awoke Monday morning we loaded the family in the van and headed home to our city as fast as we could. As soon as we got to our hospital ER Mo was admitted and the blood tests and the ultrasounds began. So did the pain medications. It took three different types before they finally settled on using morphine. MORPHINE!!! For a 12 year old!!! It was the only thing that reduced the pain from an 8.5 (on the 1-10 pain scale) to a 4. (She remained on morphine every 2.5 to 3 hours from Monday until Thursday night.)
The ultrasound was inconclusive...they couldn't find her appendix! I didn't know at the time what was going on but was absolutely terrified to see the ultrasound technician, the surgeon, and the radiologist with their faces pressed against the screen, pointing at things and whispering amongst one another. I asked a question at one point and the surgeon just held up a finger to shush me. I felt sick...I thought for sure they had discovered something terrible like a tumor or lack of a uterus or something! As it turns out, they were just searching for her little appendix.
Since the tests were no help they decided to observe her on a day to day basis and to see if anything developed. For two days the pain remained constant, and inexplicable. Finally she developed a slight fever and an elevated heart rate and that was all the surgeon needed. He booked her for an appendectomy although he couldn't be sure that it was her appendix causing all the trouble.
Wednesday night she went in for surgery and we hoped that the surgeon would find a large, swollen appendix...something to explain the pain. He didn't. He told us that hers was 'the most unassuming appendix he'd ever seen.' It was healthy but peculiarly small and was attached to the back of her large intestine (which explains why they couldn't find it on the ultrasound). Could that have been the problem? The doctors say 'no' but in my heart I think it couldn't have been helping the situation. So, the final diagnosis was that she probably had a virus and that her lymph nodes were swollen and leaky and that's why she had fluid in her intestinal cavity and such pain.
I can't describe how sad we felt when we discovered that our beautiful little girl had to undergo a needless surgery. As a parent you feel like you've let your child down and that you haven't served her best interests. You feel like you should have fought harder and yet you know that you're not equipped with the medical information required to make that argument. The doctors know best don't they? They've seen cases like this before haven't they? Who are we to dispute it, especially when our daughter has been in terrible pain for four solid days with no reprieve? Broken hearted was how we felt. But Mo wasn't bitter, wasn't angry, wasn't even the least bit ticked off! She just accepted the situation for what it was and said she was glad to know that her appendix wasn't ever going to be an issue again! She presented us with a great perspective and she's an amazing role model.
On Friday (less than 40 hours after surgery) she came home. I had been with her every night but Hubby stayed with her Thursday night so that I could go to Zee and Kiki's school sports day on Friday morning. I had planned to go to the sports day, take a couple of pictures and then head up to the hospital to see Mo and let Hubby get to work. As I was walking home from the school I saw Hubby's car in our driveway and when I opened the front door of the house I heard Mo calling out "Hello" to me. It was the sweetest sound! I told her that no sound has filled me with more happiness in my life than the sound of her little sweet voice calling to me from the family room. I think it was even sweeter to me than her first newborn cry. Mo and I held each other and shed tears of happiness.
Our family has really been tested in the last month and a bit. I think we've all come away from it a little more seasoned, a little more appreciative, a little more of a TEAM and a little more in love with one another. My family is my world. I am so grateful for every minute we have together.
Life is so very precious....
...and so are the words, "I'm home!"
Comments
What joy fills my heart to know that Morgan is ok and that things seem to be on the up swing for you guys. The Refiners(sp) fire can be hot and hard, but the blessings and miracles that come from walking through the fire are truly worth it.
Much Love
xoxoxoxox