It's funny.......

how Sean writes posts for me. The one about the Mac was written by him. Is it obvious?

So as some of you know, we've gone through a lot more than just our computer crashing in the last week.

Tuesday night Mary Ellen started running a pretty high fever (around 102). So Wednesday morning I called the doc, and we went in. They couldn't figure out what was wrong with her - no stuffy nose, no ear infections, no coughing or congestion. The doctor decided to take blood just to make sure it wasn't bacterial. Then they decided to collect urine (through a catheter :( - poor baby), but everything was normal there. They drew more blood, gave her shots of antibiotics just in case and sent us home worried. Over the course of the next few days they watched the blood culture, and we watched Mary Ellen. 48 hours later the doctor calls me and tells me the culture is positive - she has a bacteria. She starts saying things like possible pneumonia or meningitis. I freak out a little bit. We take her back in for more shots of antibiotics and are told to take her to Texas Children's Hospital to get more blood work done. My poor baby endures more needles. We're sent home to wait for the results.

During all of this Mary Ellen's fever dropped, and she wasn't appearing sick. She was smiley and cooing like always, so I really had a peace that she wasn't sick and that there was a mistake or a misread which is why I never sent out a big email or told everyone about it. Luckily my mother's intuition was right on this time! The doctor called Sunday morning and said the culture from the hospital came back negative; the test results of the bacteria from the office came back and showed that the bacteria was one commonly found on the skin. The test at the doctor's was contaminated. They are still going to watch the culture at the hospital for 24 more hours to see if it grows anything, but the doctor just called me this morning and said that she thinks there is no bacterial infection. Whew! Praise God!

And as if that weren't enough excitement for the week, I broke out in the worst case of eczema I have ever endured. Probably stress induced, even though I really only had one stressful moment during the ordeal with Mary Ellen. The doctor made it clear to me that my skin was so bad, she needed to give me shots of steroids and put me on steroid medication to clear up my skin. Doing this treatment meant that I couldn't nurse for over a week. Some of you know what I went through when Mary Ellen was first born to continue nursing, so having another setback was very disappointing for me. But my skin was causing me so much suffering, keeping me up half the night, too, that I couldn't say no to the treatment, so I'm pumped up on steroids now and am no longer nursing. I'm disappointed, but yesterday when I was dwelling over never getting to nurse my baby again I had the thought that atleast I still have my baby. Many women who suffer with the discomfort that comes when you stop nursing abruptly also don't have a baby to nurse anymore. And I am very thankful that my baby is still here and healthy. She's just going to get her nourishment elsewhere. And my skin is already 50% better after only two days of treatment.

Through all of this, though, God has really drawn me near to him. Just last week I had a friend give me a prayer card with a morning dedication on it that I've been saying each morning. It came at just the right time. The words rang in my ears and heart as I've said it each morning aloud:

I place the uncertainties of this day in Your hand, Lord. Turn them into certainties that are bound to bring glory to You. For my part, so far as I can, I foresee the events that either appear on my calendar or simply happen in the ordinary course of routine. These, together with the unforeseen events, I offer to You. Bless also all the interruptions, the accidents, the pleasant surprises, and the sudden disappointments. I might not remember to pray to You at the time, so I now refer all these things to the glory of Your name. Amen.

So I guess "It's (not) funny" contrary to what my title says for this post. We've had a rough week, but it has not been one that we've had to endure alone. God's been right there with us providing me with the strength and understanding I've needed to get through it all. And when I think about how much worse the turnout could have been, when I see the images of all the really sick babies we saw at our visit to Texas Children's, I know that I am blessed, and my struggles and disappointments of this past week are so miniscule.

And today is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, which is yet another reminder of the mercy and love of our God, yet another symbol of hope in a disappointing world. The beginning of His biggest blessing to us.