I just wanted to give you a few more details...
For the first two weeks Shelly was feeling better every day. Some people said that she was up and around too much, but she was really just being Shelly. This past Sunday she started feeling a little bit of pain near one of her incisions. She made nothing of it at first, but by Monday morning it was pretty bad. I told her to go into a med center. They wouldn't treat her there so she went to the ER. Once at the ER they gave her a CAT scan and an ultrasound. They were thinking it could be an abscess, a hernia, or an infection. It was none of those.
Before she left, I reminded her to tell the doctors what happened in her abdomen 10 years ago. About a decade ago Shelly had her gallbladder and appendix out. Over the next few months she had some unexplained pain in her abdomen. It got so bad that eventually Shelly's parents put her on a plane to Mayo Clinic. Once there, what had been undiagnosed pain for several months was quickly healed with a shot of cortisone right into her surgery area.
We told the doctors about this on Monday, and by Wednesday they had ruled out everything else. Shelly has been on narcotic pain medication up until today when they switched her to oral pain medication in preparation for sending her back home... and no treatment yet, just pain meds.
The "pain clinic" came in to do a workup on giving her a shot. But for some strange reason they cannot operate inside the hospital. Shelly will have to get an appointment with the "pain clinic" after she gets out. Their first opening date is June 9. This is just not acceptable. Why did she need to sit at home drugged up for 10 days before she can get the shot that took four hours to get a decade ago? I am very very frustrated.
Yesterday, Jean alluded to another situation I'm pretty frustrated about. My kids need to feel like they can have a normal routine at home. They are missing end of the school year zoo trips and picnics because of this. I was lucky that Zoe told me about her end of the school year program today, or I would've missed that too. The conversation went like this,
"Daddy, do I have school tomorrow?"
"No baby, today is your last day for the whole year."
"Oh. We are having a program with a CD with all the songs on it and we are dancing and stuff and all the mommies and daddies are coming. So you'll have to get somebody to bring you, right daddy?"
"Umm... absolutely baby."
They just need a normal routine. They are very resilient, and are very strong. But they are dealt with more than many of us deal with our whole lives. I just want them to be kids.
Pray for us. Pray that we have enough of volunteers to get us through to whenever Shelly can be back up to speed. Pray for Zach and Rachel as a spearhead the charge while looking for jobs!
I don't know why we continue to roll out difficulty after difficulty around here, but I'm sick of it.
I don't know what this means spiritually yet. I don't think I'm supposed to. I know that I'm still on God's team. I know he has a plan, and I want to be a part of that plan... no matter what that part is. But I would be nuts if I didn't admit that sometimes I feel like our family is the team whipping boy. Forget the big plans and grand schemes... just give me a mundane and average for a couple decades.
Sorry to vent. Shelly does it sometimes, so I guess it was my turn. Pray for us.
