Preparation is prevention...(lol)

Symbol of medical doctors

Que the song..."California dreamin'."  It was time to make plans to attend the international forum in California.  It was a huge opportunity to talk with doctors from all over the world who might be able to help us with Christopher's digestive disorder.  His hernia operation was behind us, and in the big scheme of things it was just a small blip on the radar.  There would be no further problems with hernias, but the infection issues and tube dislocation problems continued in full force.  Hospital stays, procedures to relocate the feeding tube, and antibiotics became the norm.  We were always on constant alert for the next emergency.

With the travel plans taken care of, my attention turned to making plans for the kids while I was gone.  My sister, Shelli, had agreed to care of all three of them while I was at the conference.  As usual I had the emergency suitcases packed and ready to go in the back of my car for Michael and Ryan, so they were all ready to go to stay at Auntie's house. 

Be prepared!

Christopher was another story.  It was going to take a lot of planning for him to stay with Auntie.  Preparation is prevention (or so I thought), and I wanted to make sure to have "all my bases covered" in order to make his stay with her as easy as possible.  Even though I was never a boy scout myself, I think their motto makes sense, "Be Prepared."  My preparation began by filling his suitcase with all the usual baby items-diapers...check, clothing...check, blanket/pacifier...check.   Then my focus turned to the really important items, his medical supplies.  I ordered extra supplies from the medical supply company and made detailed lists of all the possible supplies he would need while I was gone.  I checked, double checked, and triple checked.

I also made three doctor appointments for the week before the conference.  Christopher was seen by the surgeon, GI specialist, and pediatrician.  I alerted all of them to the fact that I was going to be gone, and that Christopher would be staying with my sister.  I had Christopher thoroughly examined by all three of them, so that I could be reasonably assured that he was healthy enough for me to leave. 

I hadn't planned on this!!!

In my mind I had "dotted all the I's and crossed all the T's."  As my mom (the boys call her Ga Ga) and I boarded the plane for California, I was sure that I had conceived of every possible problem or need.  With all my careful planning I was convinced that everything would proceed flawlessly, but I should have known better.  Life with Christopher had been one emergency after another.  Why would this time be any different?  As it turned out, it wasn't.  All my contingency planning wouldn't prevent Auntie from having to confront the challenge she would have to face.


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

More tomorrow...