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We had a big day on Friday, in more ways
than one. A little back-story:
Maddie’s had several urinary tract infections over the past
few months, and the doctor told us she wanted to check for
something called urinary reflux, which apparently is somewhat
common in young girls and can cause kidney scarring and kidney loss
if left undetected. So Maddie was scheduled Friday to go in for a
couple rather invasive tests, including one in which she’d be
under general anesthesia. Maddie was less than enthusiastic about
the idea, and Brian took the day off so we could both be by her
side while my mom stayed home with Cora. We went to bed Thursday
night warning Maddie she wouldn’t be able to eat the next day
until after her tests, due to be finished around 12 p.m. or so.
Thursday morning Cora began whimpering around 6 a.m., and I
sleepily brought her in with us to try to get a few more minutes of
sleep. 7 a.m. the phone rang, and we found out my grandmother had
fallen out of her bed and was on the way to the hospital. Ten
minutes later, so was my mother.
Ten minutes after that, Cora began throwing up.
Yep, it was quite the three-ring circus.
Mom was out of the picture with her mom the whole day, and it was
very clear we weren’t both going to be going with Maddie for
her tests. Cora would have preferred if I stayed home with her, but
I’d been the one in the midst of Maddie’s testing
issues and knew what to expect, with whom to speak, questions to
ask, and so on. So Brian pulled laundry duty with Cora throwing up
every half-hour, and I took Maddie to get her tests.
The doctor was, of course, delayed, and Maddie didn’t go in
for her testing until 12:30 p.m. My little girl was hugely brave,
shaking and saying, “Boy, I’m really not looking
forward to this,” even as she took off her clothes and put on
her hospital gown. She did incredibly well and I’m glad to
say the tests all came back negative, and as an added bonus she had
no trouble waking up from the anesthesia.
By 1:30 p.m. Maddie was ravenous. We hit her favorite burger joint
where she promptly scarfed down an order of mac ‘n cheese, an
order of chicken fingers, half a plate of fries, and a double
milkshake – all by herself. I’ve never seen that belly
so swollen and bloated as she belched contentedly the whole way
home.
Cora was slowly getting better, having stopped the vomit train
around 1 p.m. Brian was worn out from taking care of Cora and
worrying long-distance about Maddie, and he and Maddie snuggled
contentedly while Cora happily stroked my hair. The rest of the day
passed in a blur, but I do recall there was more eating on
Maddie’s behalf.
We’d truly intended to have a gentle, caring, loving day for
Maddie, but sometimes there’s nothing you can do. I’m
happy to say my Grandma is on the mend, Cora’s stomach bug
has not returned, and Maddie still can’t quite believe she
ever went to sleep under sedation (“But I don’t
REMEMBER going to sleep!”). The day passed successfully, and
the plans, well, I’ve just got to relinquish control of
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