Those of you who have been following along are aware of Little One’s chronic stomachaches. Remember the worst birthday ever? Most mornings she would take her temperature and then announce she was too sick to go to school and then there would be a long argument. Later I’d get text messages frantically telling me she was too sick to go on and needed to come home. This semester, she’s already missed nine days of school. I assumed these problems were at least partially an excuse to get her out of school every day. 

Well, I might have been wrong about that. This weekend her condition worsened and I had to take her to the hospital. She was released yesterday afternoon after being treated for dehydration and undergoing a bunch of tests. There are still more tests ahead for her, like an ultrasound and MRI while they try to rule out gallbladder problems.

Her stomach problems have gone on for a month and in retrospect I didn’t take it seriously enough. Rather than singing another refrain of “I’m Such a Bad Mother”, I’m trying to reassure myself that I haven’t been ignoring this situation. There have been many consultations with the doctors and we’ve tried several different medications, none of which worked. I’m sad that she’s been suffering so much.

I’m also frustrated that after all that time at the hospital they didn’t fix her. They did, however, give her a prescription for anti-nausea medicine that they give to patients undergoing chemotherapy. I’m hoping this will help her through the five-hour drive to Ann Arbor for my family’s Thanksgiving celebration. I hope she’ll feel well enough to have an extra helping of mashed potatoes, probably one of her favorite foods in the whole world.

Then it’s back to the stress of her everyday life and a whole bunch more medical tests. What am I thankful for? That they have these tests. That I have health insurance. That they’re going to fix her eventually.

Happy Thanksgiving, all!