chik v story....the end

finishing up the story on Chik V.

.....so Prince Charming and Baby John flew to the States.  The kids and I do fine on the Island alone.  The grocery store is close and we have our cozy home with 2 German Shepherd guard dogs.  We were doing great.

Almost a week after Prince had left I suddenly became very sick again with the chik v.  My fever went high and my legs had no strength to walk.  I pretty much laid in my bed in agony because you can't sleep because the pain is so intense.  I found out something {amazing} during this time.  I  have some {amazing} kids.

Moriah (10) became the chef.  I was honestly surprised at her cooking ability.  She made spaghetti...from scratch.  As in, real tomatoes, onions, and spices, ladies!  She made cajun jambalaya and corn bread...from scratch.  Pancakes...scratch. And more.... I was just so out of it I can't remember.  Did I mention she is 10?  She just looked through the cookbook, read it, and lit the oven with a match.

Alexis (9) was the nurse.  She rarely left my bed side.  She was always bringing me cold rags for my head.  Trays of crackers and water.  Alexis definitely has a gift for nursing people.  She showed such compassion and forethought looking for my needs.

Eden (6) was the babysitter.  She is a natural mother and has good common sense knowing what will hurt little kids and what they should be doing.  She occupied Brynlee and kept her out of trouble.  Also she gets a kick out of bossing others around.

Each girl did these jobs without being asked.  No one complained once.  I don't even remember the usual sister quarrels even happening.

I was down this time 4 days.  Saturday night I could use my left leg to walk and my right leg was stiff but manageable.  It kinda followed the other one.  I couldn't turn the steering wheel with my right arm and my lymph nodes were swollen in my neck so it was stiff and I couldn't turn my head either way.  But....someone had to drive the church bus.  So off I went Sunday morning.  I did leave behind my usual very high heels though.  After bus route I taught Sunday School and Junior Church and drove the bus route again.

Sunday night I became afraid because the pain was so intense in the back of my head.  As the night went on, I was terrified as the pain kept me awake.  I couldn't rest my head on anything and touching the mattress honestly hurt my entire body so bad that the tears ran down my hot face.  I could only lay on my back and my arms hurt.  They were drawn up against me and I couldn't raise them or my legs.  The dreadful thought came through my mind several times that I was going to die right there and my daughters would find me.

When morning came I thought, "I wasn't really that bad last night." When I talked to Prince on the phone we both didn't talk much about it.  He told me to go to the doctor that morning.  So it took all my strength to set up.  Alexis helped me dress...actually she pretty much dressed me.  Anyone who knows me will realize how sick I was when I say this.  I went out of the house with no makeup, hair in an unbrushed ponytail, and my old gardening flip flops.  Moriah watched as I shuffled across the floor towards the front door.  Her voice was full of apprehension when she asked, "Mom, are you sure you can drive?"  This made me smile a little but I was determined.

The 30 kilometer drive to the dr took almost an hour.  My head was full of cotton and I couldn't think really clear so I drove....really....really slow... 10 miles an hour sometimes.  When the girls and I arrived at the tiny little concrete dr office we checked in and the girls got comfortable in the white plastic lawn chairs in the waiting room.  My fever made me freeze in the 85 degree weather but I leaned against the germy stone wall and drifted in and out of sleep.  When it was my turn I slowly shuffled in to the dr.  He took one look at me wrote me a prescription for some anti-inflammatory and vitamin c.  We had to drive another 40 km back to a safe pharmacy. There again I slept in a flimsy little chair for 45 minutes waiting my turn while the kids wondered around the store.

The next 5 days are honestly very blurry.  I just remember lots of pain.  My husband returned soon after and I was well enough to drive to the airport to pick him up.  The lymph nodes on my neck had swollen up and not gone back down this time.  When Josh saw the large mass on my head and noticed how my right side was very, very weak he booked me a flight out to America the next day.  I did not going willingly.  With all the flimsy strength left in me I was kicking and fussing to leave Josh and the kids behind.

To make a long story a little bit longer...I received excellent immediate care in Baton Rouge.  I saw 4 different specialists who enjoyed learning about a weird and unusual disease.  I had a small surgery to have the mass on my neck drained and then it healed up fine.  The weak and painful joints are still with me even though it has been almost 4 months.   The drs say this could last up to 5 years.  The hardest thing now is pain in my toes that is always there.

We are all in the States now, for a few months, having an unscheduled medical furlough.  God has a purpose and plan for every trial and test in our life.  I can see now where He had special things for us to learn and do and He needed us here in Baton Rouge to do and learn them.  His ways are not ours ways.