A week ago today we rushed Azariah to the Emergency room.
It was as if God was parting the Red Sea so we could reach the safety of the other side. As we pulled into the parking lot I began to unbuckle Az from his car seat. As Kyle was rolling to a stop in the nearest parking spot I jumped out and ran inside. A sign greeted me telling me to WAIT HERE. Waiting was not something I wanted to do. Kyle passed the growing line behind me, sure that I had cut in front of them all and was quickly at my side and we were called forward. Our WAIT was no more than a minute. And no I didn't cut...like I said God was parting the Sea. We gave the woman at the computer our information. Our paperwork listed Azariah as having a minor allergic reaction (minor? really?) and we were given a bracelet and a pager and sent to the WAITING area where 15 to 20 others sat waiting as well. Sit I could not...pace I did. It was at this moment that I looked at my amazing husband and saw the fear in his eyes. I had to look away lest that same fear that I had been beating down for the last 35 minutes would completely swallow me whole. Our baby boy, who had been battling hives from an unknown virus all week had taken a turn for the worse. The unkown was excruciating. He had a large lump on the side of his head and his hives that were covering his body were angry and swollen. His eye lids were red and swelling. Something was terribly wrong. "LORD please help him. hold him." A nurse walked out of triage and introduced herself to us and looked Azzy over and informed us that we would be next. Only a couple of minutes had passed since we had walked into the waiting room. She walked away, passed through the curtain and then turned around and called for us. We were telling the triage nurse our story....hives for a week, been to the doctor, tested for HSP, test was negative, virus, getting better last night, seemed a little better this morning, 45 minutes ago the lump on his head started. Did he hit his head? No. A nurse wandered into the triage area as they were trying to get his oxygen levels the monitor wasn't working the nurse commented that he was pink and seemed to be breathing ok...but wow how strange! whats the lump? He said he would bump the patient he was going to put in bed 20 and take us. They would get his oxygen there. We walked into the room and the ER doctor followed us in. Again we began telling our story but he interrupted, "Has his lip been swollen?" We all responded no...the nurse leaned over to take a look at Az and told the Doctor that the lip in fact was not swollen as we walked from triage to bed 20. Suddenly there was a flurry of activity. Orders were being given. Shot of epi. IV in now. Where's the epi? We lost the vein. Call Nancy. Epi in.
My baby. His lip was so incredibly swollen. It looked almost translucent and as if it was about to burst. He was being held down and poked with needles. His thigh was already bruising where they had given him the shot of epinephrine. He was screaming his eyes searching for me, begging for me to help him. I was helpless. "LORD please. Give him comfort. This medicine needs to work. Help his tiny little body. Help Nancy get the IV in Father. Please." They finally got the IV in his foot.
FINALLY I was able to hold my baby and try and calm him. I can't describe it. God did it. He helped Azariah. The timing, the promptness and skill of the doctors and nurses. It was all GOD. Some might say coincidence. But I know he answered our prayers. Maybe even your prayers. I am so thankful.
We know life is fragile. We know everything can change in an instant. When we were staring that stark reality in the face everything in me fought against it. This precious boy has so much life to live. I will never stop fighting for that but in that moment, in my utter helplessness, I was keenly aware that God is in control. In that instant I was never more thankful. He orchestrated it all...just in time.
We still don't know if the anaphylactic reaction was a result of the virus or if he was exposed to something in the environment. We will be seeing a specialist in order to find out what we can. We are now armed with an EpiPen jr. should he have another situation arise. Lord willing, we will find some answers and we won't ever need to use the EpiPen.
If you were praying for us in the midst of this traumatic situation, or have been since, thank you. We are so grateful for those prayers that have been uttered on Azariah's behalf. The outpouring of love. Those who laid hands on our sweet boy and asked for healing. Those who visited us in the hopsital. Care provided for Kylee and Jude. Other "details of life stuff" that were taken care of for us. Meals. Messages of love and encouragement. May God return that blessing to you in mighty ways.
The meaning of Azariah is God helps. We knew that the day he was born. We were reminded of that this week. It has been seared into our hearts. Thank you God. We are joyful in the hope we have in Jesus. I am not sure how patient I have felt in our time of affliction but I will be faithful in prayer as Romans instructs.
