Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Just another day at the Sullivan's

Yesterday my sister Rebecca, Annie, and I went to Annie's pediatrician's office to get a check-up, weight check (41+ lbs.), height check (45 inches), and electrolyte draw (unsuccessful). While we were there, Annie threw up her lunch. We discussed what might be causing the nausea, so the doc recommended a stress-dose of hydrocortisone, as well as some other tweaks to help Annie. Then Bill, Annie, Peter & I drove down to Children's in the evening to get the electrolyte draw, and while we were in the lab's waiting room, she threw up her dinner.

We decided that things seemed to be quickly going from bad to worse, so we walked down to the ER and got an IV for the electrolyte draw, (they were perfectly within normal ranges), an emergency dose of hydrocortisone, and an anti-nausea med. We took her home around midnight, gave her another dose of stress-dose hydrocortisone, a bag of Pedialyte, and all her other meds around 5 AM, and she's still asleep here at 8:45.

I think I'll go out in the garden and eat worms today.

Jean

Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lord, please...

PLEASE GIVE THEM PEACE!!!






-t

Anonymous said...

I don't blame you...........but (true to the song)you can only eat worms if no body likes you and every body hates you. I think quite the opposite is true. We all love you very much. And God loves you the mostest. Plus, if you eat worms, you might actually get worms. YCK! This is meant to be funny, but please know that I am praying.
LOVE!!!!!
Terri W

Anonymous said...

Ewwwwwwwww not worms! No no no! Seriously, Jean -- my heart goes out to you and I so long with you for Annie's healing. Know that all of you are always in my prayers and my love.

Sue Powell

Jean Sullivan said...

Thank you ALL for your prayers--she slept well last night & so far this morning hasn't seemed too pukey. (What a gross word.) Anyway--I want to tell you that I felt your prayers last night, and I am SO grateful for them. God is here.

Love, Jean

Anonymous said...

There is a book I read when I was growing up called How to Eat Fried Worms...no recipes, but a lot of methods one could try...

And, incidentally, 'pukey' is not a bad word; it is essential. How else would you express exactly what you meant by pukey, if pukey weren't a word? See...there IS an exactly right word for everything -- that's what makes words so absafabuwonderbrilliantiest. (I was an English major; I can do that.)

The best word, however, is Jesus. God. Abba. Yaweh. Adonai. El Shaddai. Alpha. Omega...
And then of course there's everyone's favorite:
Akrogoniaios akrogoniaios lithos (yeah, sure I did).

The most powerful word we can use? Prayer. A noun. Or its verb form: pray. Both are conjugated forms of the infinitive: to pray.

We pray
You pray
We all pray
to Yaweh.
We drop to our knees
and stay
we raise our eyes to the Heavens
and pray
we shout out, shredding the very membranes of our throats
From the depths of our hearts
we cry
Adonai!
Raise us up from this place
by and by!
El Shaddai!

In our hands we lift our Annie
in our hearts we lift our praise
All to You, from our knees
We surrender all of our ways.

Knees. That's a wonderful word of placement.
It's where we need to be.
It's where we are, for you all, for Annie,
for you Jean as you forge ahead every day,
for you Bill as you stand, leading your family,
and for the kids as they walk alongside Annie
and look to both of you for guidance, wisdom, and that special brand of Sullivan love.

Love...the best word of all, for it IS what Jesus IS.
And it is what we feel for Him, and for each of you.
It is what makes us
take the next step forward
in each day that otherwise
would leave us wanting to stop
and crumple to the ground,
spent and bone-weary.

It is love that makes us take that next step...
wipe that tear out of our eyes
and refocus on that which is bigger than any of us.

It is love that makes us take each other in our arms
just to hold on,
just for a moment,
and then just for a moment longer, in support,
in encouragement,
in desperation.

And we hold you
in support
in encouragement

in desperation.
In our hearts, in our minds, in our prayers.
From our knees.
To Jesus.
God.
Abba.
Yaweh.
Adonai.
El Shaddai.
Alpha.
Omega.
Akrogoniaios akrogoniaios lithos.
May our own,
personal chief Cornerstone of our lives
be beneath your feet
as you take the next step,
and the next, and the next...
and when your steps slow,
and your feet tire,
and you find yourself bone-weary,
may you drop to your knees
and pray.

And may you feel our prayers
envelope you.
And may you feel our love surround you.
And may you know every moment
that
God is here.
For He made a promise.
And He keeps His Word.

Gretchen said...

Umm...true story...

I am a speech pathologist, and I used to work primarily with adults with brain injuries, strokes, MS, ALS; any neuro diagnosis. THe nurses used to call me "Goober" because of my aversion to...well...goobers of any kind. Puke. Mucus. Unbrushed teeth mouth goobers. Ummhmm. I guess I was absent the day that they told me I'D HAVE TO LOOK IN SOMEONE'S MOUTH, AND MAY EVEN HAVE TO TEST A GAG REFLEX. Of course, then I had kids. Can't say that I'm TONS better with the puke, but at least I wouldn't run from the room. I'd try to say a pleasantry, while hastily calling the nurse and gagging under my breath.

I'm that cool.

xxxooogretchen