Thank You God

I thank God that my little family is all back home! Mandy, Jim & little Charlotte have been through so much these past two weeks. They are all home now and safe. As some of you may know, Charlotte went back to the hospital the day after she arrived home. She was in for 4 days for jaundice. Her and her parents battled bravely and were able to come home a week ago today. All was well with my little family.

Thursday night around 11:15 p.m. I received a call from Jim telling me that they were back in the hospital! What more can happen to this family? Mandy found a lump, bump (whatever) above or near Charlotte's right ear. Back to the hospital. On Thursday they did a cat scan. Yup! the bump was there. Poor little Charlotte went through all kinds of tests and so did her mom and dad. Every hospital and many other organizations are mandatory reporters when it comes to children, adults, etc., regarding endangerment or abuse. Jim & Mandy knew that they would have to speak to the authorities regarding Charlotte's bump. To be blunt, Mandy & Jim have gone through hell these past 2 days.

I am happy to say that they are now back in their own home, with a healthy daughter and glad to be there. I can't even tell you what they all went through. Thank goodness Barb lives near by and Mandy's dad were both able to be there with them. Jackie also was able to get in on Friday night. I'm still hobbling around with a cane and experiencing a lot of pain but I was ready to go down this morning. When I talked to Jim last night my heart hurt. He was so depressed, so upset and unhappy. I have prayed a lot in the last few years for some special people in my life and believe me when I tell you that I prayed doubly hard for Charlotte, Jim & Mandy. I didn't sleep well last night (I'm sure my son and his wife didn't either). I called Jim this morning to give him a pep talk. He didn't answer but I left a message. BUT he did call back and when I heard his voice I could tell that he was much better. That also meant that Mandy and Charlotte were better too. The doctor that was to make the decision on their daughter read tests, checked the baby (all kinds of things, of which I'm sure Mandy will be able to tell you much better) but what it amounted to was he thought they were going to let them all go home today. Basically they were accused of child neglect and/or abuse. Charlotte had the bump on her head and when they did a bunch of x-rays they found a slight fissure in one of her arms indicating to them that she may have a broken bone.

The bump on the head, the spot of her arm is all due to our little Charlotte being a bigger baby and a hard birth for Mandy. I've heard of broken bones before when a child was born but never have known anyone that went through what Jim & Mandy have. Again, I thank God for watching over them, and bringing them through this crisis. There will be some follow-up to everything that has happened. Everyone wants to make sure that Charlotte is as healthy as possible.

Do I believe in the power of prayer? You bet your bottom dollar. I've spent a lot of time crying (some feeling sorry for my self, but mostly feeling so helpless and bad for my little family). I love my Jim, Mandy & Charlotte very much. I wished I could have been there for them. I'm thankful that my daughter and Bob and Jackie were able to be there. I've spent a lot time on the phone talking to my son and daughter in the last couple of days. I'm looking forward to going down and seeing all of them soon.

I went to the doctor on Tuesday and had a bunch of x-rays taken on my both knees and legs. I haven't heard the results of that yet. The hamstring pull seems much better but I still need the cane to get around. I'm tired of pain pills that put me to sleep and make me dizzy! Maybe they really don't make me dizzy -- I'm kinda that way anyway!!! We'll find out what's wrong and go from there.

Thank you God for watching over my Jim, Mandy and little Charlotte. And thank you to all my family and friends for doing the same.

God Bless All!