Still Breathing

We made it through the scope yesterday. It was rough in the end, but we all survived it. She was a trooper when we got there. We had told her she was going back to have more pictures of her belly done. She kept asking me if she was going to get "water" in her hand again (an IV) and I told her they would make sure there were no ouchies. After answering a bunch of questions and getting her in her gown, she hopped up on the gurney and watched "Finding Nemo" and appeared not to have a care in the world. I was glad she was happy but sad that she has gotten so accustomed to medical procedures that she barely gets nervous anymore.

They came in a bit later to have her drink some"giggle juice" as they call it. You know, the good stuff they give you before going into surgery? Within 10 minutes, she looked totally drunk. Her words were slurred, she couldn't focus and was barely keeping her eyes open. It was a good thing as they told us it would make separating from us easier and less traumatic. Only after she was in the room and was able to breathe some flavored gas and fell fast asleep, did they start the IV and put her completely under.

It didn't seem like long before the doctor came in to show us photos. Perfectly normal. No signs of ulcers, masses, inflammation or anything. They took some biopsies anyway but told us they don't expect to find anything catastrophic if at all. While we are completely relieved, we are still left with the questions as to what was causing such intense pain and relentless vomiting. She had lost 6 pounds in 4 weeks. She was even waking from a dead sleep to vomit or scream out in pain. This was not a kid trying to get out of going to school or eat something she didn't want to. The good news is she has gone about 4-5 days now without complaint of pain or vomiting. We are hopeful we have turned a corner once and for all.

While we were seeing her in recovery, we did have a scare. Personally, I want to forget it other than to remember the name of the medication she received that cause such an adverse affect. Let's just say, it was a very scary half hour or so. To go from so relieved to hear that nothing devastating was found on her tests and that she was waking up and was fine to seeing her doing so poorly was crushing. She even had the doctors and nurses concerned and required additional medication in an attempt to pull her out of her condition. It was scarier than almost everything else we have faced up to now. Thankfully, the reaction wore off as time passed and by last night, our sweet, albeit, tired Sofia was back.

In the midst of this, we had a threat of devastating news for Olivia. It is another thing I would rather forget and to be honest, we kept this to ourselves while we awaiting lab results on her. So, while we are sitting in a waiting room, waiting on news that one daughter came through general anesthesia, we are staring at a phone waiting for it to ring, knowing our lives could change forever.

I don't think there's a word that has been invented that accurately describes that kind of nervousness, anxiety and stress.

The phone finally did ring and we got good news. In the end, that's all that really matters.

To add insult to injury, there has been some really ridiculous family drama going on lately. Some things came to a head this weekend. It was the worst possible timing. All of this has really made us thankful for the people who treat us well and have shown concern for our children and made us realize those who do more harm than good. I have to say, it will be a relief to just let some of them go. Petty drama like that means so little to me. I've been faced with the prospect of my children being incredibly ill and potentially having critical conditions. Even our pediatrician had told us he classified my girls last week as in the "very sick" category. My husband and my girls are what matter to me. People that treat the people I love with respect, compassion and understanding are the ones that matter, too. The rest is just noise.