A Bit of Drama

This little girl is not a complainer.  She's one tough cookie.  That is why when she was crying and doubled over in pain on Saturday afternoon, I suspected something might be up.  Early Sunday morning we were off to our local Urgent Care center.  None of the simple, easy to fix ailments seemed to fit the bill.  (I had really been pulling for a bladder infection.)  The doctor ruminated.  I ruminated.  We both decided I should take her home and watch her while checking in with my Mommy Instincts on occasion.  That wonderful doctor also uttered the word "appendicitis" more than once, so after I got home, I ruminated on appendicitis.  Then I Googled "appendicitis."  Then I started to worry.

After all of this ruminating, I scooped up the young'uns and went over to the ER where Sophia proceeded to baffle more nurses and a couple of doctors.  To complicate matters a bit further, my husband was on a plane somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean while all of this was going on.  When it looked like things were starting to get hairy, an angel of a friend responded to my distress call.  She came and took Lili home from the hospital.  She met Emma who was returning from a sleepover.  She cooked dinner, changed diapers, ordered stinky people to take showers, and generally did all of the mothering that I couldn't do since I still have not worked out how to be in two places at the same time.

Sophie was sent for uncomfortable tests with her fretting mother by her side (wearing a hefty lead vest).  The tests were not helpful in determining what was causing her pain and tenderness.  The surgeon and I agreed that I should take her home and bring her back early the next morning for more blood work.  If she showed no signs of improvement, that appendix would  be coming out.

The next morning, Madame S was still quite sore and tender, but there was a spring in her step that hadn't been there the day before.  After we returned to the hospital, she appeared to move around with much greater ease and even caught a case of the giggles at one point.  Additionally she was ravenously hungry.  Insert great sigh of relief here.  I hate that she underwent a CT scan at the age of seven when she didn't have appendicitis, but I am thrilled that she didn't have appendicitis!  What in the heck DID she have, you may be asking??  Who knows?  The doctors scratched their heads and said, "Abdominal pain can be caused by a wide variety of things in children..."

For now I am overwhelmingly grateful.  My children are healthy and happy.  I also have a wonderful friend who didn't even pause before agreeing to spring to my aid me when I needed help desperately.  Did I mention the fact that she spent the night on Sunday and took care of Lili on Monday while Sophie and I were back at the hospital?  I seem to be blessed with good friends everywhere we go.  Grateful me.

Today Sophie was back at school and even went to her two hour gymnastics training after school.  No more drama for that girl.  Enough is enough.  After my whirlwind weekend with Sophie, Emma did hold me captive last night for a few minutes to tell me that ALL daughters need quality time with their mothers... most specifically daughters named Emma.  I assured her that she needn't develop an abdominal infection to get quality time with me.  We will be putting a date on the calendar soon!

"Be careful about reading health books.  You may die of a misprint."  ~Mark Twain