I Call It a Miracle...

Hi friends.  Just wanted to share with you a quick story from our last week (and part of the reason I haven't been writing as much).  The last month has completely exhausted me, almost entirely regarding Little Buddy.

I called an allergist in town who was recommended by a friend and fellow mom.  I made the call just before noon and was thrilled to hear there was a cancellation at 3 that same day.  I took him in, had him tested, and received the diagnosis of severe milk allergy.  (Pictures below on a previous post).  She had me try soy for a week.  Vomiting and diarrhea continued.  Switched to Alimentum, a hypoallergenic formula that breaks down the proteins so they are unrecognizable making them digestable.  And I breathed a sigh of relief... for 24 hours... at which point I realized we had a serious problem. 

Last Wednesday, at 3 p.m., Collin had a bottle.  From 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. he threw up 8 times.  Not just a little dribble... the kind that splatters on the floor and you can hear it in the next room.  I called the pediatrician's office and they asked me to take him off of formula for the night and to see if he could hold down Pedialyte.  If he could, I could reintroduce bottles at half-strength in the morning.  He held down the Pedialyte with no trouble and so I gave him a half-strength bottle in the morning.  Vomiting returned.  This became our pattern until Saturday night.  Pedialyte stays down, half-strength did not.  The Doctor's office called me daily to check on him, and even our pediatrician was hoping it was a virus, but mentioned this other option that he has "only had to use a handful of times" in all his years of practice.  I was relieved to know there was still one more option. 

On Saturday I called friend who works at our doctor's office, who suggested I do Pedialyte the rest of the day and call again in the morning.  Sunday, I call the on-call doctor who recommended Pedialyte the rest of the day and then wanted Collin to be seen in the office first thing Monday.  At this point, they decided that despite the alleged "hypoallergenic" nature of the previous formula, my son is still allergic.  So they wrote the prescription for the special kind.   Neocate.  Look it up, it's fascinating. 

Thrilled to have a solution, I picked up the prescription and started looking around for which local pharmacy to find my son's new food.  This is when the real story begins.  I quickly realize that there is only one pharmacy in town (and we have a LOT of pharmacies) that carries this stuff regularly.  It's that rare.  Unfortunately, they said they were out and wouldn't be getting any more for 24-48 hours.  I immediately started crying.  As a mother, I could not accept the fact that there was only one thing my baby could eat and I couldn't find any.  Meanwhile, he's crying - the hungry cry- after being on just Pedialyte for 48 hours.  I started making calls, asking for prayer and searching for formula. 

I put the kids down for a nap and left Brian in charge while I took off in search of the formula.  I remember two things happening just before leaving for the pharmacy.  The phrase "I lay him at your feet" kept repeating in my mind.  So I uttered a prayer with tear-filled eyes... "Lord, you know him inside and out.  You know what he needs.  You are not surprised by this and I trust him in your hands.  I lay him at your feet, Lord."  I had spent all morning begging for answers, but this time it wasn't about me asking for anything.  It was about me surrendering.  At that moment, a new phrase came to mind.  "Do not worry about what you will eat", from Matthew 6.  

I checked the Walgreen's closest to me, not realizing that not only did I need a Walgreen's, but I needed a specific Walgreen's, and that wasn't the right one.  They put in a call for me to confirm the correct location and I nearly cried again when she said "They have 7 cans".  I thanked the Lord all the way to the correct store location, during my 15 minute wait in line, and nearly hugged the cashier when he found an extra can, bringing my total to 8 cans.  

I am so overwhelmed with the way the Lord provided, even when it seemed impossible.