Part ONE: Emergency

How do I even begin to put into words what the past 72 hours have been like? I literally feel like I've been in the twilight zone...completely surreal, like walking outside of my body, waiting for the nightmare to end. While it has been a complete nightmare, I do want to start off by saying that we are SO thankful that we are on our way to Madison's complete healing...we are very aware that this situation could have ended very differently. God spared Madison's life Wednesday night, and for that, there are just no words to express the joy in our hearts. God has been so present and faithful to carry us through this extremely scary situation.

Many have asked and I know many are wondering, exactly what happened...so I'm going to do my best to put it into words. There was no car involved, no extreme trail riding, no stunts or crazy antics...just an innocent bike ride at Arcadia, that ended with Madison crashing within sight of the van after riding for 8 miles. She said she felt like she was going too fast, and I think she just panicked...she turned her handlebars and her tummy went straight into them as she fell forward to the ground. That's it. Who would ever have dreamed that in that moment, a dime sized hole and a tear would happen in her small intestine? Brian loaded the kids up and it took about 10 minutes for them to get home. I was laying on the couch watching Gilmore Girls when they walked in and I instantly knew something was bad wrong. Madison isn't one to complain...I knew when she started throwing up over and over and rocking back and forth in pain, that something was very wrong. It's really weird thinking back on that moment though...she was begging to just go lay down in her bed...but I was adamant that we needed to take her to the ER. There is no other explanation in my mind, except that was the Holy Spirit, impressing upon me that it was urgent and we needed to take action quickly.

* The drive to the ER was not fun...

* Daddy walking Madison into the ER at Integris...at this point, I really thought we would be going back home in an hour or two, just relieved that we had checked her over and everything was okay...never dreamed the situation would turn out the way it did.

So we put her in the van and drove to Integris Edmond a little after 8:00 p.m. Brian took her in, while I sat in the parking lot. I thought that feeling was awful, as I sat there unable to be with her, but I didn't even have a clue how much worse it was about to get at that point. I called my mom and she headed to Edmond...she came and sat with me in the parking lot for a little while and then she went to our house to be with Mackenzie and Jonah. It didn't take long for them to do a CT and discover that she had some air pockets in her abdomen. They wanted to transfer her to Children's Hospital, where a Pediatric Surgeon would look at the CT and determine what needed to happen. We knew at that moment that we were really in a serious situation. They told us at Integris that if I wanted to see her, I needed to do it then, before she got to Children's, because only one parent would be allowed to be with her for the duration of her stay there. I was absolutely distraught over this...they were loading my baby into an ambulance and taking her to another hospital, to potentially have surgery on her stomach, and I couldn't be with her. Madison was extremely calm and very sleepy through this entire process...just her sweet little self. They had given her some pain medication, and even though I know she was scared, she was being so very brave. As they loaded her into the ambulance, I handed Pony to her, told her I loved her, Brian kissed me & reassured me that he had her, and then the ambulance left. And I wept. I really think if any of the hospital staff would have seen me out there in that moment, they would have admitted me...it was bad.

*This is so Madison...still smiling, even though she was hurting...probably just to make us feel better about what was happening. 

* Loaded up and ready for her first ambulance ride...

Once I had regained composure, enough to safely drive, I went home to wait. Brian said that a team of doctors and nurses met them at the doors & within minutes, we were being told that they needed to do an exploratory surgery to find out where the air was coming from. Brian did call me on FaceTime so the doctor could explain all of this to me, which was helpful. They took her to surgery around 1:50 AM and said it would be 1 to 2 hours. I asked Madison later if she remembered being taken to the OR and she said "Yes, there was a painting of Mickey Mouse back there." Her BFF "Pony" got to go to surgery with her and silly as it may sound, that brought me great comfort. I'm pretty sure I asked Brian at least 5 times to make sure Pony didn't get lost in the hospital...he finally said, "I promise you...I told the nurses that took her to the operating room 3 times how important it was that Pony stayed with Madison the entire time, and came back safely." =0) 

* Brian did such a good job answering all of my texts and calls and trying to keep me calm and informed about exactly what was happening. This text was before we knew for sure she would need surgery. 

* Facetiming right before they took her into surgery...

The surgery took just under an hour, so less than they thought it might...but it still felt like an eternity to me...I will never forget sitting in the rocking chair in my room during that time and literally having to gasp deeply for every breath I took...the anxiety, fear and sadness that I was feeling was intense...as I sat there, waiting for Brian to call and tell me that my baby was okay. The surgery went well and without any complications...they found a dime sized hole and a tear and were able to remove that 4"-5" piece of her small intestine. She has about a 5" vertical cut in the middle of her stomach, that goes above and below her belly button. She was out of surgery by 3:00 AM and Brian got to be with her in recovery around 4:30 AM, and then they got into a room on the 9th floor a little after 5:00 AM. Because of the nature of her injury, she had an epidural in her back to manage her pain and they had to put an NG tube in her nose, and she wasn't able to have anything to eat or drink at all, until her bowels "woke back up" and healed some. We weren't sure at that point how long that would be, but it ended up being over 72 hours (3 full days) before she could have that tube out and have anything to drink, and another 24 hours before she could have anything to eat. That is a LONG time for a little girl to have to go without food or water. More about that in another post though...

* Brian took this picture in recovery...she got a new teddy bear from the hospital, so you know that made her smile at least a little bit when she woke up! 

* God gave me this verse as I waited in the middle of the night and it brought me great peace.

I can honestly say this was the longest, scariest night I have ever experienced as a mother. I have never felt so helpless. I am very thankful that I didn't go into labor & my blood pressure didn't get too high (I checked it several times). When they made the decision to transfer her to Children's, I texted my friend Angela & asked her to pray and she posted on the OK youth ministry FB page, so we instantly had countless friends praying for Madison. I was also texting with my connection group friends, and Jamie and Connie. I also posted on my wall at 1:30 AM and people literally around the world started chiming in that they were praying. Over 370 comments and likes...I'm really not one to focus on things like that...but in this situation, the great number of people standing with us meant more than words could ever say. 

Once they made it into a room and I knew she was okay, I laid down and slept for an hour and a half. I remember laying there, my entire body aching, and praying that God would just somehow multiply the little sleep I was about to get, so I could make it through the day. 

It is amazing how fast things can go from "normal" to "terrifying" in a matter of seconds...I still can't even believe this has really happened, in some ways. My heart is overwhelmed by all that has transpired since 7:15 PM on May the 20th. 

I'm going to end this post with my first FB post on Wednesday night (really Thursday morning) at 1:30 AM...

"Friends if you are up, please pray for our sweet Madison. Short version--she had a bike wreck earlier this evening and hurt her stomach badly. We took her to Integris Edmond and they transported her to Children's a little over an hour ago. She is going into exploratory surgery in the next hour, and it will take 1-2 hours. Brian is with her, as they only allow one parent...as a mom, not getting to be with her is the hardest thing I have ever experienced. Since I'm 8 months pregnant, and given the circumstances of Covid, we felt it would be best for him to go. But, my momma heart is being ripped out over this. Hardest thing I've ever experienced. I am learning to trust in the Lord with this situation in a way I've never had to before. 

Please pray specifically that there is no perforation in her bowel and that surgery goes smoothly and without any trouble. She is stable and still her sweet, smiling self, but she's in pain and is scared.

We love for your prayers now! Thank you.

3:00 Update from Brian: Thanks for the late night prayers dear friends. Madi just came out of surgery. She had a round hole about the size of a dime and a pretty good size slash in her small intestine from the end of that bike handle bar. The surgeons removed the damaged section and then reattached her small intestine. She will be in the hospital 4-5 days and won't be able to eat for a good while to allow the intestine to heal. She'll be waking up soon with a tube in her nose and some kind of pain relief port in her back. Guessing she won't be happy about that, but she's my tough girl. We're thankful to the Lord for how the surgery went and for the care she is receiving. Please continue to pray for her recovery and for our family as we navigate the next few days."