FIDDLEFART!

So my silly fast typing fingers typed too soon last night. I mentioned in the close of the blog that we don't lead an exciting life. Well, we had excitement today, yes siree!

Jeremiah has been sick with a flu virus since Tuesday night....the whole nine yards....liquid poo, vomiting and fever. Jack took him to the doctor yesterday afternoon and the doctor said; "no more monkeys jumping on the bed!" Okay, not really, but can you tell I'm spending A LOT of time with little ones? Doctor said keep him full of liquid and avoid food for 24 hours to give his bowels a rest and a chance to heal.

The stubborn lil' guy wasn't very thirsty! Of course. Jack, being the good daddy that he is, made up jello last night. This morning, he fed him four ounces of it. At 2:30 p.m. this afternoon, Jack sat with Jeremiah to change his diaper. He hollered my name loudly and with urgency. We met in the bedroom with Jack saying "there's blood in his diaper!" I was prepared to see a bit of blood. When he peeled back the diaper, I was met with a horrific sight of red. It was full. I grabbed a baggie to place the diaper in it (just be glad I didn't have the presence of mind to take a picture to share with you....ha!) so we could show it to the ER staff.

We pulled G'ma Jeanne (thank you kindly for your willingness!) off the ladder in the middle of doing mandatory repairs in her poultry house so that we wouldn't have to take the baby with us. We rushed down to the ER (about a 35 minute drive). I told Jack before we left I'd drive...he was visually nervous and I just knew we'd end up in a ditch and all be arriving at the ER in the back of an ambulance. He took kindly to my hint and drove quickly but not like a maniac. That, plus God allowed at least one car in front of us the entire way down that drove a modest speed.

So, we get to the ER. The parking lot is 1/2 full. Groan. Thought we'd wait for a long time. Got inside and only one family there in the waiting room. After check in, we waited about ten minutes before being called back. Wow! No wonder people use the ER for routine medical attention...virtually no waiting! We only had to wait about another three minutes before the nurse and then the doctor showed. Which was a long three minutes. Remember, we weren't in the doctor's office. No, we walked in the pediatric trauma unit - equipped to handle just that, pediatric trauma. Crash cart. The big flood lights. The scrub sink that rivaled our bathtub (it wasn't exactly that big). The machine needed to start heartbeats. And a whole bunch more stuff that I didn't know what it was for. This setting, only seemed to intensify the unsettling feeling of not knowing if Jeremiah was ruptured somewhere internally.

The nurse gladly took the diaper to test it to see if it was indeed blood. See, we realized in talking out the events of the day that the jello Jeremiah ate this morning was cherry jello....RED jello. And his die-dde was full of RED. It only smelled like baby poop, no blood. But we really didn't want to chance it and decided to continue on the trek of spending the afternoon in the ER. The doctor asked us lots of questions and listened closely to what we answered. He then asked for us to wait a few minutes as he disappeared. The diaper was testing negative on the presence of blood. Sigh of relief was groaned by both Jack and myself...

The doctor returned to inform us he consulted some his literature. He too felt confident that the diagnosis given yesterday was correct...stomach flu. He also recognized that liquids travel quickly through the human body when the flu virus is present. Even still, he patiently listened to our litany of "what about..." What about salmonella? What about food poisoning? What about....what about....what about. You remember the game of Twenty Questions, yeppers peppers, we played it today with the ER doctor. Do they bill according the to the amount of time they spend with the patient? Yikes....The man was very patient. He is a dad of a young daughter at home and he expressed his understanding in our questioning.

Sam and Ben were at another house today helping with yard work. We had called Chuck and Jeanna to let them know we were headed to the ER. Jeanna told us not worry about the boys, they could stay. At that point, early in the process, I was worried they would admit Jeremiah for possible dehydration. Which left the boys at their house. Not a worry for the boys, they love adventure! On our way home, we ran by their house to bring the big boys home too. Jeremiah was so excited to see his fan club. With just a few minutes of sitting by Ben in the van, Jeremiah laughed. He hasn't felt well since Tuesday night and hasn't done much laughing. The sound of his laugh was enough to bring tears to my eyes.

I think God is so fabulous to us. And I praise Him for these simple things that meant a whole lot today....

He protected His child, Jeremiah.

He listened to my anxious thoughts.

He kept G'ma Jeanne and G'pa Jack home today where they were available to help at the house.

He had Jack around today not out and about gathering supplies or what not. And He had me home too. Neither of us went alone. We not only had the assurance of our Father, but the presence of one another.

He guided the steering wheel of the van using Jack.

Okay and this will get some eye rolls from some of you, but I really do thank Him for a full tank of gas...we didn't have to stop and get gas on the way there or home.

He gave us cell phone reception where we were (not a big deal to YOU until YOU'RE on the phone experiencing disconnect and cut out!).

He shortened our day at the hospital to a mere two hours!

He gave Jeremiah a good temperament - he is 18 months after all, and I call him lil' tornado for good reason!

He gave the doctor wisdom in his advice.

He allowed Sam and Ben to be someplace where we weren't concerned about the duration of their stay.

He provided dinner - Jeanna put together a 9x13 Enchilada Casserole for me to take home and pop in the oven...arriving home at 6:45 p.m. without the need to prepare a meal was precious!

Oddly. No not oddly. Strangely, no not even strangely. Coincidental, no definitely not by coincidence. By sheer happenstance...nope, not even happenstance makes this cut. With a bit of luck - aaaaah, no. No luck when the Father is working. By His grace, He delivered a doctor with the name of Doctor Gracely. From the moment the doctor who looked to be in Dougie Howard's graduating class walked in the room and introduced himself as Doctor Gracely, I was acutely reminded and aware of His Grace. We, the recipients of His unmerited favor through His grace.

Thank you Father for your reminder and for using life to again teach me of Your faithfulness.