Mother's Day 2008

Today our annual tradition of hiking Spencer's Butte did not occur. Katie woke up not feeling well and so today I get to be Nurse Mom. And I count it a privilege. I think back over the years to how often I have worn that 'nurse' hat. Katie was an extremely healthy baby, she hardly ever even had the sniffles. She blew through the toddler years fairly smoothly as well. It was however, shortly after Daniel was born that Katie started having some very serious stomach problems. What at first we believed to be nothing more than a stomach bug lingered for weeks. Her coloring was very pale and she often would find herself running to the bathroom after only a few bites of food. At what was probably her 4th doctor's visit she had a stomach x-ray. The pediatrician noticed something 'abnormal' and sent us immediately an hour north to the Children's Hospital. After weeks of tests that a 4 year old should not have to endure, Katie was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. I knew the disease well, having seen my father suffer with it for years. Katie was the youngest case in the state of California. She had specialist all over the country conferring on treatments. It began with a strong dose of steroids and antiiflammatories. We noticed only minor changes. Mark and I began praying fervently over her every evening. Our pastor and elders prayed over her sprinkling her with oil. Katie's attitude was phenomenal. She smiled through every blood test which were weekly events. What was the most amazing about Katie however, was her faith. She had known Jesus since she was 3. She had no problem sharing the "Good News" with whomever would listen. Jesus lived in her heart and He was going to see her through. One morning about 6 months into treatments Katie woke and came to Mark and I in the kitchen. She wanted to know if we had come into her room in the middle of the night. We assured her we had not. She replied she didn't think it was us and began to relay the story of someone coming into her bedroom and touching her on the head. With complete certainty she said, "It was Jesus, He came in and touched me on the head. I know he healed me."
Our now 5 year old daughter was looking at us and proclaiming her healing. We smiled and hugged her, but really, how was a parent to respond? That day we noticed that Katie's symptoms were absent. A fluke we thought. Oh, we wanted to believe, but alas our faith was weaker than our child's. A week passed with no symptoms. Katie's appetite returned. A month...could it be? Her follow-up appt. with the specialist left us with a caution of "don't get your hopes up, it (the disease) has probably gone into remission".
Mark's job starting taking us to new destinations. Our first stop was in Los Angeles for 6 months. We met with the specialist at the re-known Long Beach Children's Hospital. The doctor was impressed with Katie's progress and without looking at her original testing would have thought she was a healthy 5 year old. He instructed us to continue with the medicines.
Our next move was to Kansas City. Katie met with the Pediatric Gastroenterologist at Children's Mercy Hospital. Again, the doctor was impressed with how well she was doing considering what a sick child she had been, but cautioned us that remission probably wouldn't last much longer. We continued with the high-doses of anti-inflammatories, but she was now off the steroids. Katie would just grin through it all. The medicine seemed so silly to her. She knew Jesus had healed her.
Virginia became home next. Katie was now 7. We were matched up with a specialist at Virginia Tech's Medical Hospital. This visit however was different. This time we were dealing with a specialist who also was a believer. He perused Katie's medical records then requested we run some tests. We returned for a second visit and the results of the testing. "On the record, your child," he said, was misdiagnosed." Then he began to tell us that unless he had it documented in her records that she was misdiagnosed, she would run the risk of health care coverage and life insurance in the future. But knowing the healing power of Jesus. He trusted Katie's diagnosis. She had been healed. He had seen her original tests, he knew how bad it was. "They don't like us to put 'healed' on the records."
Katie was taken off all her meds and Mark and I learned a humbling lesson. "Unless you have the faith of a child."

I would experience a similar lesson years later, this time through my son Daniel. But this time, I remembered how God had healed Katie and I held onto his promises. Not necessarily that God would heal Daniel, but that Jesus would indeed see him through. Daniel's story started around the same time as this blog began. In fact this blog has it's roots in a venue for us to keep family updated on his condition.(Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome) Today, Daniel is healthy non-symptomatic and has been for over 3 years.

Reflecting back on it all today. I am so grateful for the Grace that God has extended to this Mom during my times of unbelief.