Her Strength

Yesterday was an okay day for Alexis. She made it through the school day but wasn't feeling 100% when I picked her up. An hour after school she has softball practice. By the time we had to leave for practice she was only feeling worse. Her stomach was killing her. I had her try a couple different things to see if it would help but it didn't. She tried going to the bathroom but she couldn't. Although she was feeling really uncomfortable, she still wanted to go to practice. When we got there she just sat on the bench for a while. The doctor's told us it's best for her to move around when she gets these pains but they hurt so much that she doesn't want to.

Alexis kept telling me all she wanted to do was practice and that she was sick of sitting on the bench, but every time she would stand up to grab her glove she could barely move. Luckily, she got some playing time in during the last 20 minutes of practice. By the time practice was over she was feeling okay again. It always happens at the worst times but at least she was able to still make it to practice.

After softball we went home so Alexis could hop in a quick shower. Then we headed off to our town's board of education meeting. Alexis was to receive and award for a poem she wrote. This poem got published in a book! I bet you can't guess what her poem was about . . . softball! It was called "A Homerun Hit". I couldn't be more proud of her. My mom and Grandma were also there to see Alexis get her award and a copy of the book she is published in. After the awards were over, my Grandma treated us all to ice cream at Friendly's. We had a wonderful night.

This morning Alexis was woken up by those awful pains again. At first they were only in her stomach. She was able to go to the bathroom and rest for an hour before she had to get ready for school. Alexis was excited to go to school today because it was the 4th grade awards ceremony and the 4th grade picnic. The kids look forward to both all year. While Alexis got ready for school she was feeling better. I was so relieved. I didn't want anything to ruin this special day for her. When it was time, we headed out the door.

When we pulled into the school's parking lot we realized we forgot the fruit salad Alexis was supposed to bring in for the picnic. It was still sitting at home in the refrigerator. I decided to run back home and grab it since we live so close. I went inside to get the fruit salad and when I came back out to the car Alexis was in tears. She was saying her chest hurt and she couldn't breathe. I told her we could sit in the car and wait a few minutes because it would probably go away. The pains went from her chest to her back and eventually her stomach was hurting again. I started to realize it was only getting worse, not better. So we decided to go back inside. I carried my younger daughters in then ran back out to help Alexis in. She couldn't stand straight and could barely walk. The entire time we walked inside she was screaming and crying. I got her onto the couch and she crawled up into a ball.

Once again I kept reminding Alexis that we knew what was causing it and that the doctor's say the best thing for her to do is move around and get the gas bubbles and everything moving. She wouldn't even try. After a little while I got her to walk from the living room into my bedroom. She wouldn't go any further though. She laid in my bed and just cried. Every few minutes the pain would get really bad and she would scream and wiggle around saying she couldn't do it anymore. I felt so helpless. Nothing I did made her feel any more comfortable.

Alexis kept saying this time was worse than any other time. I reminded her that she feels that way every time it happens - and every time she gets through it. She looked at me, with tears running down her face, and said "Mommy, why is this happening to me?!?!?!" I dread hearing that question. It breaks my heart. My eyes started filling up so I held her in my arms so she couldn't see my face, and I reminded her it was because God knows how strong she is. She kept saying she wasn't strong - so I reminded her of a couple things she experienced these past couple months. She still didn't want to hear it though. My little girl has no idea how strong she really is. Her strength inspires me.

I was praying these pains would lighten up so she didn't miss school. I knew how excited she was for the awards ceremony and for the picnic. After about an hour of dealing with excruciating pain, she was finally starting to feel better. At this point I told Alexis to just relax and that I would take her to school when the awards ceremony started since I wanted to go to the school for it anyways. I thank God that Alexis was able to be there for it. She got quite a few awards - more than she was expecting. I am so proud of her. She is such a wonderful little girl - and I'm really not just saying that because she's my kid! ;-)

After the awards ceremony Alexis was still feeling okay so I headed home only to come back to the school and hour later for the 4th grade picnic. This is a special event for only 4th graders and their parents. Scottie stayed home with Kaelynn and Makenzie so I could be alone with Alexis. It was a nice break from our babies and it was really nice getting to do something alone with Alexis. Most of the time she ran around and played with her friends. Occasionally her belly would start to hurt so she would just come sit by me for a few minutes until she felt better. Overall, Alexis had a blast. I'm so glad she got to enjoy her special day.

Tonight Alexis' ankles and legs were hurting her a bit. I put some icy-hot on them and massaged them for her. I'm pretty sure it was from running around for so long today. Her legs can't handle all of that yet. Her ankles did look swollen too. I gave her some aleve which seemed to help. She worked on a school project for a little while and headed off to bed. I'm hoping her legs and ankles are better by tomorrow. Alexis has a softball tournament this weekend - which means she has three games on Saturday (and there will be games on Sunday too). I'm going to have her rest up the next couple days so she doesn't have to miss any of the games - I know how much that kills her.

All in all, it was a long day. I'm glad my girl is peacefully asleep.
I'm praying tomorrow is a better day.