Finally Some Answers About Chelsea!!!

So, here I am again...writing from a hospital room. I can't even believe this is happening. Almost three months to the day after I took Matt to the ER, I had to take Chelsea. For Chelsea's sake, I will spare you all the specific details, but here's our last 4 days in a nutshell...

We brought her to the ER on Sunday when she was having abdominal pain so severe it was bringingn her to tears. She had already been sick for 2 weeks, and the pain was just more than she could bear anymore. They really weren't sure what was wrong with her, and she was in so much pain that they decided to admit her. During that first day, the main goal was was to make her comfortable. However, morphine did nothing. Dilotid (don't know if I spelled that right, but it's 10x stronger than morphine) did nothing. She was in pain, and nothing helped her.

On Monday, it was more of the same. They did several tests, most of which came back normal. They still had no idea what was causing her pain. One test indicated there might be gall bladder issues, but it was nothing conclusive enough to say that was for sure the problem. The prospect of surgery, combined with no diagnosis, no pain relief, and the recent memory of Matt's hospitalization left her scared, confused, weak, and still hurting.

On Tuesday, it was more of the same...again. Still no pain relief, no matter what they gave her. Still no answers. They did find one possibility in her GI tract, and began an attempted treatment of that. During that time, the decision was made to move her to Children's. The transfer finally happened while she was in the middle of that treatment, so she didn't get to complete it. We got to Children's Tuesday evening, and were pretty much in a holding pattern for the night. They had to go over her records, review her films, and decide on a course of action. They again tried to make her comfortable to no avail. They ended up giving her some medicine that just made her sleep to get her through the night. The good news with that was that ALL of us finally got some badly needed rest, making it possible for us to tackle the next day with a little more energy.

Today started off with more of the same. She was hurting. Nothing helped. They had no idea what was wrong. They really didn't feel it necessary to do any more tests, as they thought they had looked at everything that could be going on in the tests that had already been done. Needless to say, Matt, my mom, Chelsea's dad, and I had all had it. It has been HORRIBLE to sit and watch her cry and moan in pain day after day. It has been HORRIBLE to listen to her beg me to help her, but not be able to help her. It has been HORRIBLE to keep telling her to be strong and that she could get through this, knowing that she was hanging on by a thread. She was on the verge of breaking, and to be honest, so was I. For four days, I have spent every spare minute praying for God to help her. If I wasn't holding a cold rag on her head, holding her hand, helping her walk to and from the bathroom, feeding her, or stroking her hair telling her that everything was going to be OK, I was praying. Deep down inside, I knew God was listening, but I just didn't understand why He wasn't helping her. My prayers were silent, but trust me when I say, I was still crying out to Him at the top of my lungs on several occasions. Then, late this afternoon, we had a visitor that, I believe, was the blessing we had been waiting for...

A new friend of Matt's who leads a bible study that Matt attends weekly had heard that Chelsea was in the hospital. He really didn't know any of the details, but he asked if he could come pray over her. Of course, we welcomed him with open arms!! He came and visited with us for a little while. Then, he put his hand on Chelsea's shoulder and started praying. He prayed for quite awhile, asking God take to take whatever was causing her pain out of her. He prayed this same request in several different ways over about ten minutes. When he was done, he also assured Chelsea that God was here in the room with her, and asked her if she could take all of her worry and stress and give it to God. In her complete and total exhaustion, she slowly nodded her head. After a few more minutes, he left. Not even 30 minutes after that, one of the doctors came in with a computer. She had an image from a test they did earlier that day that she wanted to show us. (This was a test I asked them to repeat based on our pediatrician's suggestion, to see if the GI issue they found earlier this week truly had resolved.) We looked at the image which clearly showed that the issue was not even close to being resolved, and it was blatantly obvious that this issue WAS the source of Chelsea's pain after all. They promptly resumed treatment for it, and we are now in the middle of that process.  By this time tomorrow, she should be feeling a ton better!!

It just amazes me how God is always so faithful. He has never left us, and truly has been working since the minute she got sick. I knew I had to trust in His plan and His timetable, but I'm not ashamed to admit that I've told Him many times this week that trusting in it does NOT mean I have to like it! Strength and courage became our mantras this week, and God has definitely helped all of us to have the strength and courage to make it through this. Once again, the greatness of an amazing God is proven in my life! Now we just has to keep pressing on to get all the way to the finish line!

Please continue to keep Chelsea in your prayers as she finishes this treatment and works towards total healing. And, please don't forget to thank God for the work He is doing with my baby girl!!

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.  ~Joshua 1:9