A "chronic" reality

This highchair is for toys!

As the miles flew by, and we made our way back home, I began to think about what to do next.  It just so happened to be a Saturday, so our pediatrician's office was closed.  I could try calling him again, but I would probably be met with the same skepticism as I had received on all those previous calls.  "Ditto" on calling the surgeon back again.  As far as he was concerned if the problem wasn't surgical, it wasn't a problem.  Then I thought about my doctor, the obstetrician, who had delivered Christopher.  Maybe he would be able to help direct us. 

I dialed his number and explained the situation.  He was very concerned about Christopher's hydration status and told me to get him to the emergency room as soon as possible.  He explained that we needed to ask to have a Pediatric Gastrointerologist (GI doctor) examine him.  We knew just where to go because this was the hospital where Christopher had had his first surgery.

We weren't really that far away from the hospital, maybe an hour and a half or so, but it seemed like it took forever to make the trip.  My sister and her husband were there with us in the car.  They had gone on the "mini vacation" with us.  It felt good to have them there for support as we all tried desperately to reassure each other that everything was going to be okay.  Mostly, there was just a nervous silence the entire way back.  Christopher was very quiet.  He slept the whole way.

Throw it here!

Finally, we pulled into the parking lot of the emergency room.  As we walked through the doors of the hospital, we had no idea that we would be "regulars" there for the next 6 weeks.  There would be countless procedures, tests, and surgeries.  Over the next 42 days we would experience the pain and frustration of a world we had never known before, and we would have to face the fact that our son was chronically ill.

To my surprise, I would soon find myself looking at my own reflection in the mirror only to realize that I recognized the "look" on my face.  It was the same one I had seen before on the faces of  the other moms who were living with the same cold, hard reality that their children were "regulars" too.


If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you can pray like this:

More tomorrow...