BLESSINGS at the ER

My heart is so full of thanksgiving and praise as I sit to write these words. I have so many emotions, yet can not find the words to interpret them. Please bear with me as I try and explain the circumstances and the great blessings and lessons of the day.

This morning, I lay in bed and hear my husband ask my daughter what is on her shirt, then excitedly he asks if she drank all the Tylenol. I fly out of bed, run into the room and see an empty bottle of children’s liquid Tylenol (lid back on) on the floor. I immediately call poison control. The informed me, what I already knew… she had too much and needs to go to ER. I asked if I should go to the Children’s hospital about 20 minutes away or the ER up the street about 5minutes away. He matter of fact told me “the one five minutes away.” I threw on some shoes and took her.

They saw Alexis immediately, quicker than if I went by ambulance. This was blessing #1 & #2 – it was a blessing because they didn’t waste any time and I didn’t have time to think or worry. On the outside I seemed very collected. On the inside I was a mess. Within a few minutes they had an IV started and blood drawn. It only took them two tries to get the IV going… Blessing #3 !

The doctor then informed me, that this blood test was to check the Tylenol levels. He said it really didn’t matter what the numbers were now, it was just a baseline. He proceeded to tell me “I don’t want to scare you, BUT, Tylenol is the worst medication to overdose on” He explained why and told me that they would check her levels in 4 hours. At that point they will know what step to take. We would either get to go home or stay she would be admitted for at least 3 days to receive the anecdote. He thanked me for coming in, because it is a very serious matter and if gone untreated it would kill her. Her levels now were at 22 – severe toxicity is 150. In four hours it will shoot up.

Once I received all the news I finally had a moment to digest what was happening. I then called Justin and told him, called my parents and then proceeded to send out TEXT messages to ask for prayers. I knew I needed help with this burden. I knew that people here in Phoenix and Independence were meeting together in prayer and I KNEW there is POWER in PRAYER! Immediately I received text messages from various family and friends, I was encouraged and uplifted; my heart was calm. I no longer felt “a mess” however, my outside looked it now… I looked like I just rolled out of bed – because I did!

I started thinking about all the prayers being offered for myself and my daughter, then I realized… I had forgotten to pray. I already felt like a terrible mother because my two year old managed to get into a child proof container of medicine, but now I felt such a burden of sorrow. I was so quick to ask others to pray, but I didn’t do my part. Not only was I now a bad mother but a terrible servant of Christ. I bowed my head, asked for forgiveness and then asked my Lord to bless my child. I remembered my promise to Him… that these children  He blessed me with are not mine but His and I will trust Him with their lives. At that moment I received another text message from a brother telling me “…Feel the Lord wants me to tell you to take courage for we have a mighty God.” This was blessing #4 and lesson #1 – Yes, mistakes happen. Physical and spiritual mistakes, but stay true to God, be strong in Him and He will see you through.

    

While we waited for the time to pass. Alexis was visited by a service dog. She was excited to see the dog but did not want to touch him. Me either, he was a pug and I think they are uuuugggggly! She also had a popsicle, watched cartoons and played  with mommy. During this time, I saw a change in her. She started getting really weird. It was almost funny. She was acting like a drunk toddler. Toddlers are already a little goofy but this was beyond goofy, she was licking the TV monitor, trying to wrap her tongue around my fingers, she was eating her snacks very strangely by sticking her head in the bowl and trying to lick them out. IT was JUST WIERD… I was pretty convinced they were going to come back and tell me she was high as a kite and we would be staying the weekend with them.

Five hours in the ER has passed… my heart was still at ease and even though I was pretty sure we would be staying I was at peace. I knew God would take care of her. The doctor came back in. He informed us that her levels dropped to 12! We get to go home! Once he left the room, Alexis, Jeremiah, Justin and I bowed our heads and thanked the Lord for his blessings. As I said “amen” Alexis shouted “AMEN… go bye bye” I didn’t tell her that we got to go home yet, but she knew.

I feel so humbled to have the opportunity and ability to have people I can go to in a time of trial and tribulation. I can depend on those people to help me carry the burden and ask God to take it away. Again, thank you for all those who offered prayers. And thank you to those who thanked the Lord on our behalf as well. But most of all I thank our wonderful, merciful, and loving Lord who saw our needs and blessed my little girl. He gave me many blessings today, and taught me a few lessons. I am grateful!

On our short drive home, Alexis fell asleep. When she woke up she saw the empty bottle of Tylenol on my counter. She looked up, pointed and yelled “NO! NO!” Let’s hope she never forgets the lesson she learned today!