Room 204 | Previous Challenge Entry

how it works

TITLE: Room 204 | Previous Challenge Entry
By Loretta Leonard
06/13/07
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The nurse walked into the room with a fresh IV pack and attached it to the hanger. She had been on duty the last three nights and she always stopped and took extra time in the room. Her hand touched the tiny arms and feet. She looked for the vein that she would pierce so the IV fluids could slowly drip into the tiny body. He was on day four at the hospital and he was struggling so hard to fight the bacteria which had invaded his body. Dominant blue veins were telltale signs of where other IV needles had been inserted. She found a place on the top of the right wrist and inserted the needle. She checked the pulse and temperature. Things seemed stable for now. She would return later to double check the vital signs.

I walked slowly down the hospital corridor towards room 204. I paused for a minute. The sign on the outside of the door indicated that the environment had to remain sterile. Anyone coming in had to wear a mask to prevent the spread of infection. I offered a prayer for God’s presence to be with me and then opened the door. When I entered the room I looked down at my young son in the hospital bed fighting for his life. His blonde hair was matted on his head due to the high temperature he was fighting. His tiny arms were resting at the side of his body and his feet were sticking out of the white hospital gown. It would be so nice if he could wear his own pajamas. The ones with the little red fire engines and the spotted Dalmations were my personal favorite.

I really wanted to be home holding him snuggly in his blanket with the soft sway of the rocker putting both of us asleep. He was so precious and I had been so content to just hold him in my arms at the hospital. I didn’t believe then that I would be back so soon. His fragile life now held in the balance between life and death with God as the only one who could gently wrap His arms around his frail body.

Each day was a milestone for us as we watched for positive signs that the disease was beginning to regress. From the first spike of his temperature at 105 degrees I knew it was nothing simple. I had taken him to the doctor for a check-up and he had prescribed an antibiotic for an ear infection. After twenty-four hours the temperature lingered at 105 degrees. I checked with the doctor and expressed my concern. He met me at the emergency room where he did an examination and ran some tests. Eventually he emerged from the lab room with a diagnosis. Brian had spinal meningitis, the bacterial type which was the more aggressive form. The fluid surrounding the brain was swollen putting extra pressure on the inside of the brain. The risk of further medical problems was lurking overhead. Learning disabilities and loss of hearing were two very real possibilities. It was a day by day battle and all I could do was depend on God.

I had always been taught to trust in the Lord. It sounded so easy at the time but now in the midst of a serious medical problem, it wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. God had already been opening doors to show His care and providence. The physician who was in charge of the case had just joined the pediatric clinic where I had been taking Brian. His specialty just happened to be research into the field of spinal meningitis. I knew it wasn’t a coincidence. It was God taking control in the middle of a crisis.

I looked over to the chair in the corner and saw my husband sitting there. He caught my eye then told me that the temperature had started to drop. The tears in his eyes told me he was just as tired as I was. Relief spread through my weary body. God was taking me one step at a time on the path to recovery. I had put my son into God’s hands and now He was returning him back to me.

Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (NKJV)

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