After two working days on our trip, we were ready for a family day.
The put on their swimsuits first thing in the morning. We enjoyed the hotel breakfast of boiled eggs, fresh fruit, and rice noodles.
We enjoyed some chilly but fun time in the pool.
We went out for a yummy western lunch of hamburgers and juice. And then we noticed this:
I took those pictures and texted them to a doctor friend. She recommended lab work. We were blessed to find a friend of a friend's local friend who was able to take us to a local clinic/hospital for lab work.
"Can you take my picture, mom?" she says. "I didn't even cry!"
I can't read well but I know enough to know that 3 when then line next to it says 100-300 is not good. My heart sank when I saw it and I felt nauseas and scared. But He was with us. We held our girl close and made a plan. Friends all over the country pitched in to help and people all over the world began lifting up our girl.
We got on a plane and went straight to the ER in the big city where we normally live.
It was a long and challenging night. The kids slept from 2am-6am despite the brightness and the noise and the mosquitoes. We slept a little but spent most of the night talking to our Father and reading his letters to us. What else could we do?
Another lab test in the wee hours of the morning and it was obvious we needed to be on a plane to Bangkok as soon as possible. We booked the first flight out at 1:40pm. J rushed back to our house with various members of our team and local friends to pack a few quick things. He spent two hours in traffic round trip and we left from the hospital for the airport. When saying goodbye to local friends at the hospital, S realized we were leaving the country and she began crying, "But we just got here!" J and I fought tears as we climbed into the car with our luggage.
Friends that didn't make it to our apartment came to the airport to say goodbye. It was bittersweet.
The flight to Thailand was a long two hours. Not having slept well, our normally superstar traveler was abnormally fussy and fidgety. S sprawled out on the two seats next to J and slept almost the entire flight. He checked on her constantly and when he didn't, I asked him to. Whenever our eyes met across the aisle, they filled instantly with tears.
I've cried many tears on many airplanes but these tears were different. These were not the precious parting tears of saying goodbye to my family or my beloved. These were tears wrung from the deepest part of my soul, where the unknown and the unseen collide with all that I hold dear on this earth.
After arriving in Thailand, the hospital ambulance met us at the airport. After her good sleep on the plane and the steroids starting to kick in, Little Miss decided that she liked her pink teddy bear jammies and the bracelet they gave her "that's just like the one at Chuck E Cheese" and that Thailand wasn't so bad after all. Her smile did our hearts so much good.
It didn't take long for us to settle in at the hospital. The facilities were great. The staff was amazing. People come from all over the world to receive treatment at this hospital. B loved looking out the window at the busy city below.
We both really tried to take some special time with B. It was very hard for him not being able to play with S and being cooped up in the hospital. Meals were a great time for little dates with our little mighty man.
"Take a deep breath." Says Dr. B. "Again. Again. Again. Again. Everything sounds good."
Papa is the most patient patient.
While we kept B busy, S was busy too, trying to get better. The first night she received treatment via IV most of the night. In the morning she felt great. By afternoon, she was miserable: vomiting, fever, terrible head and neck ache. It lasted all through the night and into the next morning. The doctors said it was aseptic meningitis and is a common side effect of the treatment. We were to treat the symptoms by treating her like someone with a migraine, dark room, totally quiet, ice packs, anti-vomiting medicine.
By the next afternoon, she was finally feeling a little better.
But that evening, her headache returned along with a few other side effects from the treatment. She couldn't get comfortable. She couldn't sleep. It was another long night.
By the last day, she was able to play a little more. She found creative ways of staying busy in her bed until the last day when the doctors said it was ok for her to get down and play a little with B. Although I think in this picture, she was mostly trying to avoid eating. Another side effect of the treatment is appetite loss and although we're doing our best, she has lost some weight. Please keep this in mind as you talk to the Father.
Aslo they were painting the exterior of the hospital so that was awkward at times too.
Finally yesterday she was able to be discharged. We have follow-up appointments scheduled for lab work and doctor's visits every week for the next 3 weeks. We had to wait until 21 days after treatment to do any further testing (like for lupus or leukemia). The waiting and the unknown is still difficult but for now we're happy to have her "home" and healthy. Thanks for remembering our family.
