Almost funny...

... but not quite.

Toward the end of January, I was lamenting the fact that we already had over ten doctor appointments scheduled for February. I thought it sounded like a lot. And surely with all of the medical issues and special needs that are part of our daily lives, it couldn't get much more drama-filled, right?

Ha, ha.

As it turns out, February offered double the original appointments. Some routine, yes, and others completely unexpected. For instance, our sweet Taylor had an appointment with a pulmonologist to check up on his asthma. They did an ECHO and an X-ray while he was there. When the doctor called a couple of days later to discuss the findings, I almost tuned him out. I was in the middle of folding laundry and answering various questions from my kids (questions that always come up the second they see me on the phone.) I thought surely that everything would be normal. After all, Taylor is one of our TWO that we deem healthy. So I was taken off guard when the doctor started out by saying, "Well, we have a few things to discuss..."

Those "things" led us to a cardiologist and further tests. Without being too specific, it turns out that Parker stands alone as perfectly healthy.

Jessica has been going through something even more unexpected, which I won't discuss here for now.

And then, as if to put the icing on the cake, we believe Lexi had a seizure last night. We've been told if it happens again to go straight to the ER. We are now adding "neurologist" to our family doctors. Actually, now that I think about it, we aren't "adding" it-- Graci already sees one.

In fact, we have a neurologist, pediatrician, dentist, optometrist, orthodontist, opthalmologist, cardiologist (several), pulmonologist, ENT specialist, gastrointologist, orthopedist, vascular surgeon, geneticist-- those are just off the top of my head.

I am not complaining. I don't want to sound ungrateful. February has been full of blessings for our family. Two of our children, Xander and Sophi, are being treated at Shriner's Hospital, meaning we are not charged for their care. We have such good doctors and therapists who genuinely love our children. And I honestly feel like every time something hard happens, someone calls with an offer to bring dinner or something shows up on our front porch or someone offers to help with housework. These acts of service always come at just the right time, and without people even knowing what we are going through. We have been served to a humbling degree. We are very blessed in so many ways.

Still... as far as medical issues go, by the time we got to the seizure thing with Lexi, I'll admit I was left wondering, "Um... isn't it someone else's turn?"

ARGH.

Oh, and may I add that I had my purse stolen? Money, credit cards, drivers license, pictures, sunglasses, jewelry, my new watch, receipts, stuff from China-- all GONE. That's ok, because I have just tons of time to replace it all. The funny thing is, my purse was a fake Coach purse. Jeremy bought it for me in China for under $20 and I LOVED it. I had hardly even heard of a Coach purse, and was shocked to find out how much the real things cost. I never pay more than $20 for a purse. I googled how to tell if a Coach purse is real, and mine passed all of the tests except for one. So whoever stole my purse (we know it was stolen because the credit cards were used the following day) likely thought it was the real thing. I almost feel bad for them. In fact, I think I do.

Anyway... today is the LAST day of February. May March be easier on us... (:

--Christianne

Oh, and I haven't forgotten that I promised a Sophi post. It's coming. We've been so, so busy. And so tired at the end of the night. However, Jer and I had a discussion last night about how important it is to journal the sweet blessings in our lives and made a commitment to post every day in March. Whether we'll follow through is the million dollar question, but it's a good goal! (: