Okay…you can check out Part 1 or Part 2 of our vacation if you missed them.  Otherwise, I’m gonna jump right in and get this finished up!

(Finally enjoying some vacation!)

C continues throwing up several times through Thursday night.  I’m a wreck, because I just don’t know how much more her little body can take.  There’s nothing in there for her to be throwing up!

We find an immediate care clinic and take her there early Friday morning.  The nurse sizes up the situation, reports to the doctor, and the doctor doesn’t even see us:  he sends us right to the ER.

We’ve never been to the ER with any of the girls, so I’m panicking a little bit.  This must be more serious than I thought.

One Tough (and Sweet) Little Girl

Truly surprising, C gets checked-in and looked over by the nurses at the ER right away.  Within 15 minutes, we head to a room.  The doctor checks C — he’s convinced it isn’t appendicitis (so thankful — I had actually read Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back on Tuesday, so I’m a little nervous about that). 

She just has a virus, but she’s lost too much fluid. 

The nurses start the IV (it takes a two pokes — a try on each arm, but C is pretty weak and doesn’t put up much of a fight).

Then…a heart-melting moment…at least for my heart:

The nurses offer C a popsicle.  She has enough strength to say she’d like one.  She also asks, “Can my sisters please have one, too?” 

I’m torn up inside.  She’s so weak and so sick — and she’s still taking care of her sisters.

Bad Mom of the Year Award #2

The doctor is great. 

Memorable to say the least. 

He’s convinced we are such a nice family.  (I think he’s a little jaded by his work.  We all have our problems!)

He takes some bloodwork — he wasn’t expecting C’s fluids to be so low.  We’ll need to get a whole bag of fluids through her.

I feel terrible.  We didn’t push fluids very hard while we were traveling.  We were just so busy traveling from place to place, I wasn’t even paying attention.

All’s Well That Ends Well

He starts the fluids.

It’s really remarkable!  Within a few hours, C is back to herself.  Talking non-stop…and ready to go swimming.  By 5PM we’re out of the ER! 

There is an amazing difference in our little girl!  It’s a huge blessing…and a reminder that life is precious.  

I know medically the fluids caused much of her turn-around.  But I’m convinced that the prayers of our family and friends and all of you were instrumental in her feeling so completely well in such a short time span!

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What I Learned

*Always carry a ziploc or vomit bag in the car. (Sorry…gross, I know — but necessary!)

*Make sure you have all your insurance cards with you when traveling.  You never know when you’re going to need them!

*Life never goes as planned — even on vacation!  (Well, I already knew that — but it was a good reminder!)

*Live thankful for every moment.  You never know when you won’t have those moments anymore.

We finally did get to do a few things — another trip to a children’s museum (pioneer-themed — they loved it), the wedding we traveled to Indiana to go to went off without a hitch — except for the rain(!!), and daddy and girls went swimming in the hotel pool a few times before we came home.  I guess it makes a memorable vacation story!!