You Never Know What a Day Might Bring

Last Friday we were all having a great day shopping for Alyssa's 15th birthday party. We made our usual trip to Wal-Mart and the Dollar Store. We had just walked in the door to our house when Mikayla came into the kitchen panicking, she had something stuck in her throat. It was a "Gobstopper" a hard, round candy that you can't bite and it doesn't dissolve very quickly, to say the least!

We yelled for Alyssa, she is very calm in an emergency, she tried to do the heimlich, but nothing was coming. I immediately called 911 and Jessie ran to our even "calmer" neighbor, Gina Smith. She also tried to help still, nothing was moving. Mikayla was gurgling, spitting up saliava, face red and she was terrified.

The first responders got to the house and because she was breathing, they couldn't do anything. The paramedics were next. They immediately put her on the gurney and I jumped in the front seat. We thought it was stuck in her wind pipe. The driver told me if the gobstopper moved we were in trouble. I learned later, the reason I was asked to move to front seat was due to the fact that they might have to go into action. So glad I didn't know that part while on route to hospital. I prayed. All I could think of was that I didn't want to say goodbye to my baby girl. I prayed the whole way there, knowing the God who created her body, each intricate detail, had her in His hands. Everything that comes into the life of a believer has to first be filtered through the hands of God. All year He has been asking me, "Do you trust me with your children's lives?" I didn't know He meant their literal lives.

Once at the hospital they did x-rays and found that the "gobstopper" was in her esophagus and wasn't budging! The ENT surgeon informed me they would have to perform surgery, hopefully going through her mouth if all went well, if not possibly through her throat. Needless to say, I was calm but very alarmed. As they prepared to make all the arrangements to get her ready to go upstairs to pre-op we sat and talked to her, assuring her she would be just fine, telling her she was in the best hands. She would simply nod and stare straight ahead.

20 minutes later she began talking, she had stop salivating and spitting up and even cracked a smile. I knew it had either dissolved or moved into her stomach! The Dr. came by and was so relieved. They ran another set of x-rays and just as everyone had suspected the gobstopper was gone! A few minutes before and she would have been wheeled up to surgery. God's timing is PERFECT. He strengthened my faith and trust that day. You never know what a day might bring, but you certainly can trust the ONE who holds each day in His hands!