On Monday, December 14th Stacey (my wife) took Marley (our daughter) to Presbyterian Hospital in Plano because Marley was not responsive to any stimulus. Her eyes were open, but she was very lethargic. From the beginning we could see the hand of God was on Marley. Plano Presby has one pediatric ER doctor. She was on shift that night. They ran a series of tests (ultrasound and x-rays) to determine what was going on. They found what's called an intussusception. Basically, the small intestine had worked its way into the large intestine. There are two procedures to correct it: air enema and surgery. Doctors said if caught within a 48 hour window, the air enema is 95% successful. Stacey and I were racking our brains trying to think when she had her last bowel movement. We came up with Sunday (almost 48 hours exactly) and were optimistic this would work. Our pediatrician showed up for support that night and accompanied us during the procedure. We could tell the intussusception was further advanced than originally thought by looking at his face. They attempted three times to reverse the intussusception without success. After the unsuccessful procedure they transported us to the Medical City of Dallas Pediatric ICU. The surgeon gave us a brief rundown of what was going to happen and what the potential risks would be. Marley was taken back for surgery late Monday night. It was relatively short...maybe an hour to an hour and a half. The surgeon came back to us and told us that the intussusception was the worst he had seen. The small intestine worked all the way around the large intestine and was centimeters from being expelled, but that wasn't all. They found what the docs called a malrotation of the small intestine and its blood supply. The vessels that supply the small intestine were twisted and bunched up not allowing the blood supply to be delivered adequately across the intestine. We found out later, if left untreated, the small intestine would eventually die off a little at a time and results in death. Yesterday Stacey was on the phone with one of the surgical partners and he told her they had never seen an intussusception accompanied with a malrotation. God is with Marley. If the air enema had been successful, surgery would not have been necessary and the doctors would not have found the malrotation. Marley would not be with us much longer. However, God has plans for her and made sure the right team was there for the surgery and caring for her.
Sunday was the first time we had been to church since Marley was released from the hospital. We normally attend a morning, small group class prior to the main worship time. The whole week prior to Sunday, I had been thinking of getting up in front of both gatherings to express our deepest thanks for the various methods of support shared by the church. I don't do well in front of a large group of people. Not only that, but the content of the message was about my little girl who was close to death. Needless to say I knew I would not make it through the message without breaking down. So, with all this on my mind, I tried to think of the best way to get my point across. Power Point was out of the question, although it would have made an interesting slide show. Charades...no one would get intussusception. I can picture that in my mind...with my fingers tugging on my ear the people say "sounds like" and from there I would have no idea what to do...move on to the five syllable sign. People would have walked out. Up until the point of introduction at class I had no idea what I was going to say. I stood up and just started talking. It went well. Stacey had to assist because, just as I thought, I started breaking down. Actually we both did. In fact, the whole class was balling with us. It was an awesome experience.
During the main worship time, it didn't get any better. I balled again, but I had the microphone and I couldn't pass it off for assistance. Thankfully our preacher came up to save me otherwise I would have been up there babbling on forever.
I can't begin to express the gratitude we have for our church, family and friends. Everyone was, and continues to be, awesome. We had never felt so much love and compassion. It definitely changed my outlook on life.
I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be blessed. -Bible, Psalm 37:25,26 NIV
Our children have been blessed, but now I have to live up to the "righteous" part of the bargain.
No comments:
Post a Comment