by Robin
Our summer is just rolling by so quickly. I have no idea what happened to June. We spent the month raising money & preparing for camp and then it was over and July had arrived. Somewhere in there, we took braces off one child & schedule an appointment for braces to be on the other. One day, we had 20 kids over for a party. Life keeps rolling on....
So, we wanted to go to Sea World for their fireworks on 4th of July, but a bunch of thunderstorms rolled in and we stayed home for a quiet holiday. But, it wasn't long before we were rolling down the highway and headed to Orlando and see Shamu. Be sure to check out our photos in the link provided below this picture. I took some really nice pics of the dolphin.
Sea World pictures
Also, in the midst of this fun, was some sickness. The night before my father's major surgery, Andrew gets sick with vomiting. Not fun, especially since he didn't make the bathroom. As you can imagine, that was my job to clean up. Mother's get awesome responsibilites because that's how we roll.
And, well, a few days later, as we're walking into Sea World, Andrew mentions that he's itching on his wrist. Ahh-hmmm. Yep, seen that before. It happens to me when the dog licks me. A couple hrs later, "Wow, looks like he's getting acne on his face." Hmmm. Was that there earlier? By nightfall, he takes his shoes off and is itching them. They look a tad swollen. Oh boy, I certainly understand with walking miles in that heat. And then, he takes a shower (once home) and comes out in a towel......... he's covered in hives!!! Oh no!! Bad mom. How did we miss connecting the dots? (figuratively speaking, that is)
We spent the next 24 hrs trying to control it with Benadryl but inside, my Mommy voice couldn't wait for the Pediatrician's office to open Monday morning. Meanwhile, our minds raced to find a culprit. Food. No. Detergents. No. Soap. No. Wait. Maybe. Axe body spray. Ding, ding, ding.
Monday rolls around and instead of three of us heading to VBS, I drop off my volunteer teen and two of us head to the doctor's. Good thing we did because it wasn't the Axe body spray. I learned today that when you have head-to-toe hives, it isn't topical - that's systemic. So, next, we began ruling out things. The hives were not connected to the vomiting. Timing was wrong. We did a strep test and that was negative. Next, not one, but two docs listened to his lungs and heard wheezing in the right one. What? They gave him a breathing treatment, he coughed, waited and they listened again. Crackles. Not good but at least we had our culprit.
Although it is rare, a rash or hives can be associated with the microplasma pneumoniae bacteria (or was that virus?). AKA - walking pneumonia. How did this slip in? No fever, cough (until a single one on the drive down to the office), listlessness, bronchitis or anything else remotely resembling pneumonia.
As we rolled back towards home, I was in full re-play over the past 48 hrs. Was there anything we could have done differently? What signs did I miss? The answer was simple. It was silently growing in his lungs, next to his already compromised heart. If
God had not allowed the measles to sift past His mighty hands and be a nuisance to us in the flesh, we would not have known about the silent pneumonia. It was the biggest blessing of the day.
And this blessing, window of wisdom, gave me so much to consider. How many times has God placed nuisances in my life to wake me up out of my routine? Or protect me? One day, I was suppose to go walking but my morning didn't go right and I stayed home. Next thing I know, there are helicopters and a SWAT team in my neighborhood. Later, the whole country would learn of a mother who shot her 4 children before turning the gun on herself. Once, a family with a rambuctious boy in the pew ahead of me was doing a workbook. She later put me on the path to homeschooling. Years ago, Jack applied for a job at the Space Center and was denied all but one nasty position of cleaning out the fuel tanks. He passed and stayed with his job (still current job). How much heart-ache did God save us with that one small disappointment? I could go on, but you get the drift.
Sometimes, we have to roll with the punches to get God's best out of this life. I'm glad that "this" is not my home. My home is waiting for me in heaven where we will have no pain, sickness, tears or Satan meddling with our lives.
God bless,
Robin
