....for all these things make me truly grateful

Do you remember when I chose that thought ("for all these things make me truly grateful") as *my* thought back in January? It has been exactly what I need, yet it is making me stretch to new limits.

It is so much easier to think of things as "bad luck" or as simply not going my way, than it is to be truly grateful for seemily aggravating events.

Take, for instance, the events of this past week.

Last Friday we went to Shriner's Hospital to meet with the Orthopedic Surgeon. The one we were to meet with was gone for the day, but another doc was to take her place.

So we met with him. He was very good; he was incredibly thorough and kind. Steve & I were impressed.

It came time to schedule surgery. We told him and the scheduler that the psysiatrist said that we needed to have Michael's surgery within 3 months, which would be no later than May. The scheduler said that there was no way to have surgery with the doc we just me any sooner than 4 or 5 months out. When she went out to check exactly when surgery could be scheduled, the doc, Steve, & I were talking about Michael's situation and the fact that botox had bought us a little time, so maybe the extra month wouldn't matter.

The scheduler came back in and told us that she had amazingly good news: the main O.R. scheduler had just had a cancelation for this doctor in just 10 days. Wow!!

As I went downstairs, I noticed portraits of some of the VIPs in the hospital... and one of them was Michael's new doctor! I went over to the plaque to see who he was. He is the Chief of Surgery. Everything had fallen in place so well that we just knew it was God's hand.

Fast forward a few days.

On Thursday, Jared got a rash of little pin-point dots on his eyelids. A kid at school asked if he had black eyes. We had no idea what the rash was from.

His blood sugars were out of control. 350. 210. 275. Never normal, no matter that he had increased the long term insulin at night and increased the short term to a 1:10 carb ratio instead of his normal 1:15 carb ratio. (1 unit insulin for 10 & 15 grams of carbs)

I realized that he had something going on, whether it was a virus or bacteria I didn't know, but *something* was going on. Jared protested, saying that he didn't feel sick at all.

On Monday, he showed me a rash of raised bumps on his thighs. I immediately thought of Scarlet Fever. Jared seems to attract Scarlet Fever and has had it on at least 2 other occasions. I had him show me his chest. His torso had a fine, pink, lacy rash, and sure enough, the tell-tale sandpaper rash on his chest. Though he protested, I told him that he was staying home from school the next day and going to the doctor.

At the doctor's office, Jared's temperature was normal. He said that he didn't have a sore throat, and when the doctor looked in his throat, he said it was only slightly red. The doc sure didn't seem convinced that Jared had strep though. (For anyone new to Scarlet Fever: Scarlet Fever comes when one doesn't treat the strep infection. If left, Scarlet Fever turns into Reumatic Fever.) He looked at his rash and agreed that *something* was going on, so he cultured his throat.

When the doctor walked in the room, he pointed at me and said, "That is the doctor of the day, right there!" and said that he was surprised that I'd realized what it was. (That was the best part of my day! Have I ever told you that I'd wanted to be a doctor when I was growing up? :) The doc gave him a script for amoxicillin and said that he would no longer be contagious in two days (today).

So, there has been lots of hand washing and sanitizing going on at our house, and Jared has felt like an exile. And still....



Michael's seizures have increased again. Right after his CT scan, he quit having seizures altogether, though beforehand he was having 3 a day. In the past few days, he has had no less than 2 a day.

So, I pondered on all of those things: Michael's increased seizures and his being exposed to Scarlet Fever / Strep. I agonized whether to call and cancel the surgery or to keep the appointment and hope for the best. I decided, instead, to call the same woman who'd scheduled Michael's surgery and ask her opinion. She was unsure, so she said that she'd talk to the anesthesiologist and see what they said.

She called me back today. Said she'd talked to the anesthesiologist and he said that he wanted Michael to wait a minimum of 4 weeks before surgery.

My heart sank and tears sprang to my eyes.

I know that waiting could prevent complications (and possibly save his life), it is just hard to see God's plan sometimes. I thought His plan was for Michael to get right in, but it seems that perhaps that *wasn't* really His plan.

I will continue to pray that His will will be done.

I am very thankful that I was able to know that Jared needed to see the doctor and get antibiotics. Had it been my first time seeing Scarlet Fever, I would have missed it.

So, I'm trying to live by "bad luck, good luck, who knows" and to be grateful for all things.

But sometimes it is easier said than done.