Here we were, raising
our two boys, and just weeks into our second son's life, I discovered a bulge
in his groin. This was common among Follower families, (at least mine). My
nephew had something similar prior to his return home from my parent's house
after his birth. My sister, her husband, and their new baby lived at our home
for what seemed like months...it maybe wasn't that long.
From what I remember
about my son's experience, I called my mom, she told me to call my sister. My
sister came over, and could find nothing wrong. The lump wasn't there. She said
to keep an eye on it. Seemed like every time I had to change his diaper, it was
there, and whenever I tried to show someone, it wasn't. My sister told me to
call another woman in the church that had more experience with this condition.
So, I made the phone call. She wasn't able to come over, since her child had
chicken pox, but she told me some suggestions.
After describing what
this lady told me, with my husband, he suggested taking our son to a doctor.
WHAT? Really? He wanted me to go to a
doctor? Whoa...
But his explanation was
spot on. He said that instead of calling a bunch of women that don't have
knowledge of what this was, to take him to someone that did have knowledge.
What was the difference in calling a bunch of different think so ideas than
finding the real reason behind it.
We talked about where
we'd go from there. If the doctor said he'd need surgery, we'd think about that
option, but wouldn't do anything without praying about it first. Let's just
find out first.
I made an appointment
at the Health Office in Oregon City. I was nervous, but had been there as a
child with my own mother, getting some type of lotion for a rash my sister and
I had. Once the appointment had been made, I asked my mom if she'd come with me
to take him there, since my husband had to be at work. She turned her nose up
at the idea, and said she didn't want to go with me. She did not support us
taking our son to the health department, but she took my sister and I? I was
confused. What was the difference of a rash we had, or a lump that my son
occasionally had?
My mother-in-law and
sister-in-law babysat my oldest son while I took the baby to the health
department alone. I'm not sure why my mother-in-law didn't come, but it wasn't
because she opposed it. My husband's family supported doing the right thing.
While at the doctor’s
office, I was asked all kinds of questions about my baby. Who was his doctor,
where is his shot record, did he have a PKU test? They made me strip my newborn
and put him on a scale. They weren't very loving or friendly about it either.
The nurses made a big deal about him having a hernia and he'd have to have
surgery. They were kind of mean to me and intimidating because my newborn
didn't have a pediatrician. When the friendly, male doctor arrived in the room,
he put me at ease with a smile, and examined my baby. "Oh, this is
a...." He explained. To this day I can't remember the name he used, but
described it as fluid buildup. It was not a hernia like the nurse insisted it
was. He did NOT need surgery.
The doctor said he'd
seen it lots, and it typically goes away on its own in about a year's time. He
said by the time my baby was walking, we would not even notice it. The doctor
left, and the nurse stopped me in the hall and asked who delivered my baby.
They then attempted to take a PKU test. She ripped his sock off and tried
poking his heel. I was disgruntled, and
grabbed the sock back and covered his feet with his blanket as I walked out to
the car.
By this time, my son
was screaming. We had not gotten off on a very good nursing habit and he was
hungry and upset at all of this commotion. I was practically in tears. I tried
nursing him in the car, but he would have no part of it. I put him back in his
car seat, screaming all the way home. What a nightmare.
But, thankfully, we
could rest in the fact that it was not life threatening, he wouldn't sustain
any harm from whatever this was, and eventually, it would go away. This could
be a long first year...
In our experiences,
with sickness and injuries, we anointed with olive oil. So, after sharing with
my husband the prognosis of our son's affliction, he told me to anoint him
every day and we'll pray that he's healed. So, we did just that. When my
husband cared for him, he'd anoint him, when I cared for him, I would anoint
him. It didn't seem to bother our baby, but we kept on even when we didn't see
the big bulge. Faithfully, every day, we anointed him, praying for healing in
Jesus’ name.
It seemed like the
right thing to do...pray for someone that was afflicted, injured, or sick. We
all met over at my mother's bedside praying for her, as she lay in bed
afflicted with the swollen belly. She had been down for what seemed to be a
couple of weeks, and our baby was probably a month old or better. While my
sisters and I were in her room, visiting, I explained to them we'd like them to
pray for our baby. I told them what was the matter, but leaving out the part
that I'd "taken him in". My oldest sister rose up out of her chair,
and loudly voiced her opinion of no, she would not pray for him, as we'd taken
him to a doctor. Her words to my knowledge were, "Oh, you take him to a doctor and THEN
want us to PRAY for him?" as she stormed out of
my mother's bedroom.
Wow! I sat in awe. I
was speechless! How can one say they are a follower of Christ and deny prayer
to another humbly asking? My mom just laid there, shocked at her daughter's
response. I can't even remember what
happened after that.
I believe our son was
about three months old, when we noticed the last few times we had anointed him,
we didn't see any bulge. I'm not sure if
it got smaller over time, or what, but he was not nearly one year old when this
fluid buildup was gone. Our prayers had been answered, he had been healed. We
thanked God for his mercy with our son.
Imagine, God having
mercy on someone who went to a doctor. God is good, and we believed that.
