Mercies in Disguise
2 days ago Robbie's doctor in Beijing gave us the all clear!!! So we are officially done with Robbie's New Year health saga. I think for posterity's sake I will put it on the blog because one of my reasons for blogging is to keep a record of our lives and the things God is doing in them. I think most of you who read my blog already know all of this information, so sorry for the rehash :-)
A little more than a month ago now, we noticed one morning that Robbie had extremely swollen lymph nodes all down his neck. So large that they were easily visible when looking at him. One was the size of a ping pong ball. We were alarmed so we threw him into the car and headed off to the hospital in Qingdao, about an hour away. We got right in to see the doctor and after so bloodwork, a chest x-ray, and a consult with the ENT they diagnosed him with pneumonia and told us to come back in 3 days after the antibiotics were complete. So 3 days later we returned and the clinic doctor was alarmed that his lymph nodes remained swollen. So she took us over to the inpatient pediatric ward for a consult with the head pediatrician. Without examining Robbie she diagnosed him with mono and admitted him to the hospital for what she explained would be a 1 or 2 week stay consisting of daily antibiotics and antiviral treatments along with steroids. I asked her to please run a mono test and examine him more thoroughly. I asked about the size of his liver and spleen, she felt them and said that they were both extremely swollen. Then I asked about his throat and she said it was normal. I got a reprimand from the staff for asking questions and displaying distrust in the doctors opinion. A mono test was not available at this hospital. In fact only the most basic mono spot test was available at one hospital on the other side of the city. Otherwise it was not available in Qingdao. So we drove Robbie ourselves over to this hospital about 45 minutes away to get the blood test and they told us to return the next day for the results. We asked if it was possible to get earlier results and they told us it was if we were willing to carry the blood ourselves down to the lab. Of course we did and the results were negative. No mono. By this time we were very concerned and decided the best thing we could do would be to take Robbie to Beijing for a medical opinion we could rely upon. When we returned to the hospital I told the doctor that we felt it was better for Robbie is we took him to Beijing. I expected her to be angry based on her earlier annoyance with my demand that she actually examine him before treating him, however I was surprised to hear that she was in fact relieved. She told me that she had given his case further thought while we were gone and had decided that in fact the most likely cause for his symptoms was leukemia and she had intended to do a bone marrow biopsy in the morning if we stayed. This of course freaked us out a little bit more and deepened our desire to get Robbie as quickly as possible to Beijing. We returned home and Rob got online to buy plane tickets while I and my friend Lisa called the international hospitals and clinics in Beijing to see if we could get a next day appointment on the biggest holiday weekend of the year. A friend volunteered to stay with Maddie. We miraculously got early AM plane tickets on the most traveled day of the entire calendar year, and we got 2 different appointments, one at a clinic and one in a hospital. All of those things alone were pretty amazing! One the plane flight to Beijing I begged God to please give us wisdom to know how to proceed. First I needed to decide which appointment to keep as they were both at the same time. By the time the plane landed I was firmly convinced in my heart that we would go to the clinic to see the French doctor. That was further confirmed by a phone call from a friend who had researched the doctors bios during our flight and thought the French doctor was the better qualified.
To our suprise and delight, some friends had heard of our situation and were already waiting at the airport to pick us up, take us for lunch, and drive us to our appointment. When we arrived to see the doctor I felt immediately re-assured. She and her staff were extremely professional and calm. She thoroughly examined Robbie, listened to our story, and then ordered all of the appropriate blood work and tests to help us decide what the real problem was. She immediately re-assured us that she did not think Robbie seemed as ill as the Chinese doctors had made him out to be and that his liver and spleen did not seem swollen. We waited for a few hours as all the testing was done, and then agreed to return in the morning as some results were still pending. We met with her in the morning and she re-assured us that there was no swelling of any internal organs, his chest x-ray did not show pneumonia, and that his bloodwork and exams had ruled out the possibility of leukemia. To be completely thorough she had even sent his results off to a children's hematology specialist in France who confirmed with her that the labs were unremarkable. So that left us with ruling out mono and a few other remote possibilities to explain the swollen lymph nodes all over his body. These labs would take 1 to 2 weeks to return. She advised us to return home, allow Robbie to rest, and to be confident that whatever the problem was, he seemed overall healthy and she felt that it would in time be nothing serious. So our friends again made us comfortable, and we got tickets on the last flight back home on New Years Eve. After waiting 1.5 weeks she let us know that the results had come back positive for mono and that the only requirement was to continue resting.
It was a stressful few days in there. But we are thankful to have seen God's hand in every aspect of the time. We always got every doctors appointment that we asked for. Even though it was the busiest travel week and weekend of the year, and many people were already on vacation, we never had trouble getting in to see a doctor and never had trouble getting a lab or ultrasound done. We found flights in the exact time frames we needed them and although they were pricey, it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. We had believing friends who cared for our daughter and believing friends who met us at the airport to act as our guides and chauffeurs. Back in the states there was an army of believers lifting us up to the throne of grace. We felt their love and support very dearly. Some friends even sacrificed to pay for our travel expenses so that one more worry might be taken off of our mind. Seeing the body of Christ in action is a beautiful sight to behold. It always takes my breath away. Although we were deeply concerned, God gave us a deep sense of peace and His presence every step of the way, and He provided ample wisdom for every decision that needed to be made. We never look forward to living through a situation like this, but on the other side, the magnitude of love and care that is always bestowed on us in every moment of need,we see as a precious and wonderful gift. The chance to see our God at work so tenderly and practically in our lives is a treasure we would never trade away.
I've been studying recently with some girls here, Ann Voskamps book "One Thousand Gifts" and we have been talking a lot about perspective, how we tend to categorize things we experience as good or bad when in reality they may really be the opposite of what we feel to be true. I am trying to remember that things I sometimes see as bad may really be a good and perfect gift coming down from my Father who loves me so.
"What if my greatest disappointments or the aching of this life, is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy? And what if trials of this life the rain, the storms, the hardest nights, are Your mercies in disguise?"
Laura Story
A little more than a month ago now, we noticed one morning that Robbie had extremely swollen lymph nodes all down his neck. So large that they were easily visible when looking at him. One was the size of a ping pong ball. We were alarmed so we threw him into the car and headed off to the hospital in Qingdao, about an hour away. We got right in to see the doctor and after so bloodwork, a chest x-ray, and a consult with the ENT they diagnosed him with pneumonia and told us to come back in 3 days after the antibiotics were complete. So 3 days later we returned and the clinic doctor was alarmed that his lymph nodes remained swollen. So she took us over to the inpatient pediatric ward for a consult with the head pediatrician. Without examining Robbie she diagnosed him with mono and admitted him to the hospital for what she explained would be a 1 or 2 week stay consisting of daily antibiotics and antiviral treatments along with steroids. I asked her to please run a mono test and examine him more thoroughly. I asked about the size of his liver and spleen, she felt them and said that they were both extremely swollen. Then I asked about his throat and she said it was normal. I got a reprimand from the staff for asking questions and displaying distrust in the doctors opinion. A mono test was not available at this hospital. In fact only the most basic mono spot test was available at one hospital on the other side of the city. Otherwise it was not available in Qingdao. So we drove Robbie ourselves over to this hospital about 45 minutes away to get the blood test and they told us to return the next day for the results. We asked if it was possible to get earlier results and they told us it was if we were willing to carry the blood ourselves down to the lab. Of course we did and the results were negative. No mono. By this time we were very concerned and decided the best thing we could do would be to take Robbie to Beijing for a medical opinion we could rely upon. When we returned to the hospital I told the doctor that we felt it was better for Robbie is we took him to Beijing. I expected her to be angry based on her earlier annoyance with my demand that she actually examine him before treating him, however I was surprised to hear that she was in fact relieved. She told me that she had given his case further thought while we were gone and had decided that in fact the most likely cause for his symptoms was leukemia and she had intended to do a bone marrow biopsy in the morning if we stayed. This of course freaked us out a little bit more and deepened our desire to get Robbie as quickly as possible to Beijing. We returned home and Rob got online to buy plane tickets while I and my friend Lisa called the international hospitals and clinics in Beijing to see if we could get a next day appointment on the biggest holiday weekend of the year. A friend volunteered to stay with Maddie. We miraculously got early AM plane tickets on the most traveled day of the entire calendar year, and we got 2 different appointments, one at a clinic and one in a hospital. All of those things alone were pretty amazing! One the plane flight to Beijing I begged God to please give us wisdom to know how to proceed. First I needed to decide which appointment to keep as they were both at the same time. By the time the plane landed I was firmly convinced in my heart that we would go to the clinic to see the French doctor. That was further confirmed by a phone call from a friend who had researched the doctors bios during our flight and thought the French doctor was the better qualified.
To our suprise and delight, some friends had heard of our situation and were already waiting at the airport to pick us up, take us for lunch, and drive us to our appointment. When we arrived to see the doctor I felt immediately re-assured. She and her staff were extremely professional and calm. She thoroughly examined Robbie, listened to our story, and then ordered all of the appropriate blood work and tests to help us decide what the real problem was. She immediately re-assured us that she did not think Robbie seemed as ill as the Chinese doctors had made him out to be and that his liver and spleen did not seem swollen. We waited for a few hours as all the testing was done, and then agreed to return in the morning as some results were still pending. We met with her in the morning and she re-assured us that there was no swelling of any internal organs, his chest x-ray did not show pneumonia, and that his bloodwork and exams had ruled out the possibility of leukemia. To be completely thorough she had even sent his results off to a children's hematology specialist in France who confirmed with her that the labs were unremarkable. So that left us with ruling out mono and a few other remote possibilities to explain the swollen lymph nodes all over his body. These labs would take 1 to 2 weeks to return. She advised us to return home, allow Robbie to rest, and to be confident that whatever the problem was, he seemed overall healthy and she felt that it would in time be nothing serious. So our friends again made us comfortable, and we got tickets on the last flight back home on New Years Eve. After waiting 1.5 weeks she let us know that the results had come back positive for mono and that the only requirement was to continue resting.
It was a stressful few days in there. But we are thankful to have seen God's hand in every aspect of the time. We always got every doctors appointment that we asked for. Even though it was the busiest travel week and weekend of the year, and many people were already on vacation, we never had trouble getting in to see a doctor and never had trouble getting a lab or ultrasound done. We found flights in the exact time frames we needed them and although they were pricey, it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. We had believing friends who cared for our daughter and believing friends who met us at the airport to act as our guides and chauffeurs. Back in the states there was an army of believers lifting us up to the throne of grace. We felt their love and support very dearly. Some friends even sacrificed to pay for our travel expenses so that one more worry might be taken off of our mind. Seeing the body of Christ in action is a beautiful sight to behold. It always takes my breath away. Although we were deeply concerned, God gave us a deep sense of peace and His presence every step of the way, and He provided ample wisdom for every decision that needed to be made. We never look forward to living through a situation like this, but on the other side, the magnitude of love and care that is always bestowed on us in every moment of need,we see as a precious and wonderful gift. The chance to see our God at work so tenderly and practically in our lives is a treasure we would never trade away.
I've been studying recently with some girls here, Ann Voskamps book "One Thousand Gifts" and we have been talking a lot about perspective, how we tend to categorize things we experience as good or bad when in reality they may really be the opposite of what we feel to be true. I am trying to remember that things I sometimes see as bad may really be a good and perfect gift coming down from my Father who loves me so.
"What if my greatest disappointments or the aching of this life, is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy? And what if trials of this life the rain, the storms, the hardest nights, are Your mercies in disguise?"
Laura Story
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