May 16
Bart got off work on this evening and we both decided that we wanted to go over to Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin... for a last minte shopping trip to Cabela's. As we got ready, Neela was playing with her toys and acted completely normal. As we got into an hour of our trip over there, Neela became very fussy and tired. I noticed that she had felt warm... so had Bart drop me off to get some Tylenol. Gave her some of that before we went into Cabela's. She was fine in Cabela's, but still pretty fussy. We stopped and got a bite to eat at Culvers... Neela ate and drank quite well. We were all beginning to think that she was trying to kick this sort of bug or infection that she quite often usually gets with her LM. We went into WalMart... shoppped a bit. While checking out our items... Lexi was holding Neela. Lexi all of the sudden said, "Mom there is something wrong with Neela!" I grabbed Neela and she was stiff as a board, but yet limp at the same time. I looked at her face, and her eyes were no longer fixed on anything. Bart immediately grabbed her out of my arms, and started to say her name. "Neela?" Neela?" I immediately dialed 911 on my phone... told them what was going on. I felt in my gut that it was a seizure that she was having. After I looked over at Bart, I asked him... "Is she ok?" I will never forget his face... it was as white as a sheet. I finished paying and loading up kids to the van... the police and ambulance were in front of the store in about 5 minutes. As I got to the van... I immediately grabbed the kids hands, got into a circle and began to pray and pray that HE would protect Neela from whatever was happening to her. I felt like a whirlwind of tornados couldn't knock us off our feet because we were in such deep prayer for Neela. Bart took her in the ambulance, and I followed behind. The ambulance wasn't trucking so I assumed she was stable and okay. I realized the strength and love in our family when I heard sobs in the back of our van. Marissa was pretty much nonconsolable. Lexi was just sobbing. Clint had great big tears just sitting on his eye lids. Jake was very confused. Tate was asking, "Are we going to go and get Neela back?" Beau had no comprehension as to what was going on, but knew we were all hurting and were concerned. I immediately made phone calls to our parents and closest friends to let them know what had happend and to PRAY. We got to hospital and was relieved to see Bart calmly walk with Neela in his arms. She was awake and alert, but pretty shaken up. The doctors evaluated her, drew bloodwork, and did a chest xray. The doctor had no clue what was wrong with Neela's swelling on the right side of her neck, imagine that? I gave him a quick rundown of what a lymphatic malformation is and what is in store for Neela this summer. I get so frustrated that there is a lack of awareness for people, nurses and doctors about Neela's rare birth defect. My goal someday is to actually make a difference in getting the awareness of her LM out there. Neela ended up having a febrile seizure... because she had such a high fever. Neela's bloodwork came back normal, except for her white blood count. It was significantly high. The chest xray was normal. We were there for about four hours... the doctor gave me a choice to either stay, and have Neela be evaluated, or we could go home if we would follow up with our family doctor in the am. We chose to go home since Neela was stable, and we were an hour away from home with seven kids. We will recheck her and see where those white counts are in the morning... hoping and praying she kicks this so we can move on. Another day that we experienced, not a dull moment. Realized today that "our family" is irreplaceable and our strength and love together is as solid as a rock. God Bless... he sure has blessed us tonight... by having our baby girl safe in our arms...
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