The Sun Will Come Out...

... after driving 7 1/2 hours through snow storms.  Yup, that is what I got to do yesterday....

... after winning the meanest mom of the year award for waking Sleeping Beauty far too early and not letting her have anything to eat or drink.

... after driving completely across the greater Denver metropolis in the snow during rush hour to get to the hospital on time.

... after having our amazing friend greet us at the hospital entrance, coffee in hand.

... after sitting in the waiting room, so grateful for all the things my baby did not have to go through, and praying for all the babies that had it so much worse than mine.

... after watching my kid be SO STINKIN BRAVE during the CT scan, and only flinch a little when the IV accidentally fell out while she was using the restroom.

... after collecting poop samples in the Old Navy restroom.  Saint Poopicus returns!  It never fails.  Take the kid to Old Navy, look at clothes, poop within 15 minutes (usually when I find something cute for me).

... after returning said poop samples to the lab.  So happy that is not my job!

... after driving back across the greater Denver metropolis to retrieve my water bottle from the house we stayed at.

... after getting stuck in traffic on the highway out of town for 30 minutes only to realize that the stop to get my water bottle probably saved our lives - horrific accident due to fog that we missed by literally minutes.


We made really good time, considering.  Wolf Creek, the big pass we had to cross, was horrible.  Kat was asleep, so I just kept plowing on.  The snow plows hadnt been able to get all the way through because so many people were off the side of the road, or flipped over.  I was very excited when we got off the pass, to say the least.


We woke this morning to Katrina removing the rest of the CT contrast from her body in a rather ... ahem ... violent manner.  Both ways.  I love the smell of Lysol in the morning.  So, we stayed home.  She was pretty puny, and the littles desperately needed mommy snuggles, so it was deemed movie and coloring day.  I got NOTHING done.


The doc and I had a long talk this morning.  She felt horrible when I told her how Katrina and I felt after the appointment.  We realized that she did not explain the diagnosis well at all.  The CT scan was completely normal, so we are looking at two options.  One is the abdominal migraines.  The other is something called Functional Abdominal Pain Syndrome.  Essentially, some children have extremely sensitive nerves in their abdomen.  They sense pain faster and stronger than other children.  There is no cure, but most children grow out of it on their own.  These are also children who are typically more sensitive emotionally than other children, which Katrina is. 


The plan is to have a prescription of Maxalt, the migraine medicine that worked, on hand in case we need it.  We will also be meeting with our pediatrician to discuss therapy to teach her coping and relaxation techniques.  Once I found out it was nerve related, my first thought was to talk to a friend of ours who is a chiropractor.  Please pray for my heart in this.  I have struggled to trust chiropractors most of my life.  And trusting one with my daughter is a huge step of faith for me.


So, how do I feel?  Relieved and frustrated.  Relieved that there is nothing huge wrong.  Frustrated that I cannot take her pain away or make it better.  Relieved that, finally, someone is listening to my daughter and taking her seriously.