On January 5th I noticed that Julia was running a fever. After several hours of fever that didn't respond to medication David and I decided that we had better take her in to the emergency room. This was not something I was looking forward to...I figured that they would tell me she had the flu and to keep her hydrated.
Thank God we took her in! I will spare you all the details of our 14 hours in the ER, but the final diagnoses was that Julia had a ruptured appendix. At 4:00 PM (diagnoses at 2:30 PM) on the 6th she had surgery to remove her appendix and clean up the infection that had already filled her abdominal cavity. We were so blessed that the surgeon on call was a fabulous doctor...one of the best! And also thankful that the ER physician is a wonderful doctor! She stayed after her shift to make sure that Julia's tests were completed and that she received proper treatment!
Julia stayed in the hospital for 8 days on IV antibiotics. This was a loooonngg time! I stayed with her and did not leave the hospital at all until we went home. Thank God for my great family...my older daughters took care of Olivia and ran the house! Our church family provided meals for us for the entire time that Julia was in the hospital...no mean feat for a family of 8!
One of the great things that happened while Julia was in the hospital was that she was introduced to Greta, a canine companion who visits the children who are staying there. Greta's handler encouraged me to apply for a canine companion for Julia. Julia really does need a watch dog...she gets away from us and one incident even involved the police...that's another post. So, now we are in the planning stages of Julia receiving her very own canine companion! What a blessing! Her companion will help us to keep track of her whereabouts, bring her home if she gets away from us, track her by scent if she is out of sight, protect her around strangers and water and alert us if she needs help.
Many thanks to everyone who sent cards and food, who prayed for and with us, who took my family to church while I was at the hospital, who called and laughed and cried and rejoiced with us. We would not be complete without each of you!
Most of all we say thank you to our Lord Jesus...Dr. Marr told us that "12 hours would have made a difference in the outcome." He didn't interpret that for me, but just the sound of it is scary...thank you Jesus for keeping your hand on Julia! Except for a scar on her tummy you would never know that she was desperately ill just a few weeks ago!
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