Last week was our toughest yet as parents.

It all began when Squish endured a few days of unexplained fevers and interrupted sleep.

We eventually found a rock-hard lump on her leg that was clearly the source of her pain. We got in the car and went straight to the emergency department.

Several hours later, Squish had an ultrasound, a diagnosis (an infected lymph node), and some antibiotics.

However, all was not well. Two days on, things had only gotten worse. We returned to emergency and waited several more hours for the news that our baby needed surgery to drain the infection. For such a young, squirmy kid, this also meant general anaesthetic.

I was not so daunted by the prospect, but for my wife Angie, it was definitely not the news she wanted to hear.

The next two days were a blur. All I remember is a lot of tears from my two girls and very little sleep.

Thankfully, the surgery went very well and Squish is back to her normal, effervescent self.

Blessings

Our stay at the hospital came with some valuable lessons.

Angie and I are both very squeamish around blood and all things medical, which brought an additional layer of anxiety to last week’s scenario. However, by the grace of God, I found myself able to step up when the moment called for it — comforting Squish as nurses inserted an IV needle, supporting Angie as our baby had a paradoxical reaction to the anaesthetic, and pulling the gauze packing out of Squish’s wound several days after returning from the hospital. I surprised myself, but I can’t take the credit.

Angie and I were also reminded of how blessed we are to have such supportive family and friends, and a church community that went above and beyond with meals and kind messages.

Such an up-close encounter with the medical world likewise fills you with gratitude for what we have access to in the West — and in the present day. As I commented to Angie, a century ago, the prospects for Squish could have been much worse, even for such a simple infection. Today’s medical knowledge and advanced equipment made it a walk in the park.

In addition to all this, we live just five minutes down the road from the city’s sprawling hospital district. And thanks to Squish’s adoption, her surgery and stay in hospital came at zero cost to us.

So while last week was hard — and it came at a crazy time for us (selling a house, about to move countries, applying for passports and permanent residency and much more besides) — we couldn’t be more thankful.

___

Image courtesy of Unsplash.