Prayers Do Get Answered

I have been off line for awhile due to a busy schedule and sick children. Alex came down with something last Friday and was sick all weekend. Bill and I did errands on Saturday separately so that someone could stay in with Alex; I took Nathan and Amy to my sister's to celebrate my brother's birthday that evening and once again Alex had to stay home; Sunday I went and taught at church while Bill stayed home with all the kids. Poor Alex was stuck indoors all weekend. I think by Monday he was feeling better and was ready to be active. And I was ready for things to get back to normal.

Sadly, Monday did not fulfill my expectations . It began earlier than I'd have liked and came equipped with grumpy, whiny children. As a result, our homeschool session was difficult and discouraging. We then dared an outing to get Alex a much needed haircut. He requested to go to the "place far away" for his haircut (the barbershop about 30 minutes away) as opposed to the other place we sometimes go to that is just 5 minutes from our house. I agreed and off we went... And about 20 minutes down the road I remembered that the barber shop is closed on Mondays. So we turned around and headed back home. At this point, Nathan and Amy were both asleep. Then as I neared the other haircut place, I asked Alex if he wanted to go there instead or wait until Tuesday morning when we could try the barber shop again. He gave me a blank stare and so I suggested we just wait. No protest. So to home we went. And the minute I pulled into the driveway it was like a bomb went off. Alex broke into a tantrum and Nathan woke and joined in; both were crying, "I want to get a haircut". So, I gave in and we drove back to the other place. After Alex's haircut we came back home and had lunch. I let Nathan skip his nap since he'd already had a short one in the car. He and Alex were playing and having so much fun, in between the usual moments of arguing. The day was starting to look up, until...

Nathan decided to perform one of his daredevil acts by standing on a beach ball at the front door. In a matter of seconds, he'd fallen off the ball and hit the back of his head on the tile. He immediately started crying/screaming and I ran over and held him. A huge bump quickly formed on the back of his head. After he quit crying I put him on the couch and got him some water. I called the doctor and the nurse asked me some questions and told me what to watch for. Nathan pretty much stayed lying on the couch over the next couple of hours and complained of a headache. I noticed he also had a fever. And though these symptoms did not match up with what the nurse had said and could simply be a sign that Nathan had caught what Alex had, we didn't know for sure. Nathan later turned down pizza for dinner and continued to either lie on the couch or he'd ask to be carried around. We finally decided to call our pediatrician's emergency line and spoke to a nurse again. She went through the checklist of questions and concluded that we should probalby take him to the ER to be checked out. So that is how we spent our Monday evening. I can't remember the last time I was so scared. You never want to wish an illness on your child, but this was one time that I was praying the symptoms Nathan was experiencing were due to illness and not the head injury. On the way to the hospital Nathan added another symptom to the list - he threw up. I didn't know whether to be more frightened or more hopeful by this latest event; Alex too had thrown up when he was sick. We didn't have a change of clothes for the poor little guy, but thankfully we had a clean towel and a child's sweatshirt in the van. This sufficed until we got him checked in at ER and then I headed back home to get him a change of clothes. I spent a lot of time praying that evening, especially on that drive home and back to the ER. I pleaded to God for everything to be okay. I know others were praying for him, too. And you know what? God listened. When I got back to the ER, Nathan's condition had completely changed. His eyes were bright and so alert. He asked for his clean clothes and once we got him dressed, he began walking around and started climbing from chair to chair. Bill and I were suddenly unsure if we should even be there! But we stuck it out and shortly after, we were called back in to triage. One look at him and the doctor said he felt certain he was fine. He offered to do a catscan if it would bring us peace of mind, but he didn't think it was necessary. We agreed and that was that. A whole afternoon and evening of worrying because of the coincidental timing of his fall and the appearance of symptoms from the illness he'd caught from Alex. I didn't enjoy going through this whole experience, but it did remind me how precious my children are. I thank God for my children and I pray that He will watch over them and protect them always.

Amy came down with a fever yesterday so we are still fighting this illness. But I don't mind; I'm too relieved it's the only trial we're facing right now! Thank you, God, for answering our prayers!