My baby girl Elisabeth had appendicitis for 22 days. Twenty two.
Her symptoms were classic.
I recognized them.
The doctors recognized them.
The ER teams recognized them.
The surgeons recognized them.
Our modern day CAT scan did not.
So she was stuck. Stuck in a cycle of unrelenting pain and continual nausea.
She missed 2 weeks of school because any movement caused the pain to get worse...walking, sneezing, car rides...any movement.
She lost 12 pounds because appendicitis makes you sick. So sick that food is the last thing you wanna do.
And this mama was stuck too. Stuck watching her baby suffer day and night in persistent pain... that had no answers.
"I don't feel good mommy."... was her daily song to me.
"Please fix Lissah"...was her daily message to me, left in hand written notes all over our house.
Finding an outside surgeon that would look at my kid wasn't easy.
Sitting in another doctors office and telling our story for the umpteenth time was tiring.
Hearing this "last ditch effort" surgeon say..."This doesn't look like appendicitis."....made my heart sink.
Hearing him say "There is no evidence on the CAT scan for surgical removal"...made me wanna puke.
Hearing this surgeon say "I will have to consult with the pediatric surgeon (the same guy who chose 3xs NOT to remove her appendix because the CAT scan told him not to)...made me loose all hope.
"Well LORD, i have no idea what is wrong with this child or what to do next. Oh LORD help."
The doctor rose from his swivel stool, gazed at lissah for a moment...then sat back down. Turning to me he said...."I will be looking at the CAT scan myself but despite what i see i think i should go in and get a good look around."....i stared at him in silent unbelief.
He continued..."When i go in i will get a good look at her appendix." ....where did this suddenly come from?
"And whether the appendix looks sick or not...i am going to take it out." ...what in the world!
"This is a reasonable next step." He continued..." It may not solve her pain. But it is the next thing to do."...huh?
I could not believe my ears!
What just happened?
I was eye witnessing a total 180...
an absolute turn around...
an unexpected U-turn.
It was like this surgeon didn't even realize what he was saying. The words were just rolling off his tongue....In absolute contradiction to his opening remarks...in opposition to his initial plan..in rebuttal to the infamous CAT scans.
"I will still consult with the pediatric surgeon. But that is my direction. I think we should get her is as soon as possible. How about tomorrow?"
aaahhhh...yeeaaaahhh...okay.
I was mystified.
Although happy we had a plan...at least another step to try...i puzzled over what i had seen and heard. What made the change?
That's when the HOLY SPIRIT in HIS faithfulness did HIS job...bringing a BIBLE verse to my mind...revealing to me what i had just witnessed.
The king's heart is like a stream of water directed by the LORD; he guides it wherever he pleases....proverbs 21:1
I had been watching the unfolding of my GOD's WORD from a front row seat. I know what i saw. I know what i heard. I know what happened.
GOD, in HIS time, wrote HIS words, on the brain of that surgeon, to do a complete turn face....HE intervened in mid-sentence...and turned that mans heart to operate on HIS little girl...that HE knew all along had a bum appendix.
.......................................CAUSE GOD KNEW BETTER THAN A CAT SCAN......................................................