I’ve really been empathizing with Samantha Riley, Anika’s mom, lately. Doreen was sick with a variety of symptoms, which no one could diagnose until Miles suggested it could be chronic Lyme.

As complicated as that was, with Em it’s been even more so in that there’s no one diagnosis. Doctors, tests, more doctors, more tests, one thing ruled in, another thing ruled out, two more ruled in, “there’s nothing wrong with her!”, “oh, there’s something definitely not right here”, “all the tests came back normal!”, “uh… we’ve got a positive on this test and the specialist will be calling to schedule an appointment shortly”, and it’s so frustrating to know your kid’s in pain, but no one can figure out why. We had a breakthrough this week in PT and discovered her pelvis was out of alignment. The PT is confident this occurred when she fell in PE shortly before we moved two years ago, and fractured her kneecap. So, ever since then her spine has had to curve to accommodate for it, causing increasing back pain, headaches, and occasional numbness in her left leg. Finding the culprit is cause for celebration, since the PT got the out of place bone back where it belonged, and her pain has lessened. She has daily stretching exercises to retrain her muscles to hold it in place, and will follow up with PT in a couple of weeks.

So yay, right? And I’m not kidding when I say we’re thrilled to have an answer, and a solution that doesn’t involve an autoimmune disorder, or surgery, or whatever. If I were to list all the doctors she’s seen and tests that have been run, it wouldn’t be believable. So out of all the possibilities, this is preferable by far. But it doesn’t end. There are other specialist visits coming up to address other health problems as well.

All things considered, it’s no wonder it didn’t surprise me to get a text from Em this morning before I could get through writing the first sentence of this blog post, saying her nose bleed was severe, she was in the girls bathroom, and what should she do. Go to the nurse, of course, who said the vessel may be ruptured and she should see a doctor. So, a call to the pediatrician, a referral to an ENT, and now Em has an appointment this afternoon. I prayed the entire time I was on hold, which was ten minutes at least, that they’d be able to get her in. And they have. And then, Em is texting me right now she doesn’t want to go. The child should’ve thought of that before she went and had a nosebleed that still hasn’t stopped, and texted me about it, and no wonder I’m struggling to get my books finished!

Everything’s a test. It all is. How will I handle it? How will she handle it? Sometimes difficulties teach us, sometimes they help others. Sometimes it’s impossible to find a parking space anywhere near the hospital because there’s a woman in a wheelchair that would never get where she was going if you weren’t in that place at that time to help her. Oh, and Em just LOL’d me. That’s nice. Laugh at your frazzled mother. Apparently I’m funny when I’m stretched thin, and the day of uninterrupted writing that stretched before me just snapped.

But, this too shall pass. And something else will take its place. Instead of making me feel hopeless, it actually allows me to pace myself and take it in stride, although sometimes it feels like I’m trying to stride through a tar pit. I am striding though, and God is getting us to the right physicians to help her. How we ended up in PT was roundabout and then some, but we did end up there, and that’s one down.

Time for writing has been scant, but I do have new pages for Will’s and Gemma’s new book. The page count of 67 is deceptively short, since the entire first ten or so pages have been cut and pasted into Fox’s first mini-book. 423 Apprehensive Avenue would be longer if not for that, but it was absolutely the best choice. Uncertainly Yours is on page 247, but I’ve set it aside and intend to finish the third Mystery Lane book first. Uncertainly Yours is complicated, and it will take longer to finish it than to write 423, so 423 is getting written. In the few minutes I’m able to patch together.

So happy reading to you, and I’m going to get ready to take Em to her next doctor visit, then see how many paragraphs I can get written on 423 before I have to go.