Maggie and Franklin

Franklin the Turtle does quite a few things. He can count by twos and tie his shoes and he is always navigating tough kid issues. You may be familiar with the show, but our first foray with Franklin was the book, “Franklin Goes to the Hospital”. I don’t know where it came from, but it is part of our home library, and it is Maggie’s favorite book. The short story tells of Franklin’s soccer injury which leads to him having x-rays of his shell and an eventual surgery to fix his bones. In a sweet encounter, Franklin asks Dr. Bear, “If I get an x-ray everyone will know that I’m not brave but scared inside.” Dr Bear assures Franklin that part of being brave is being scared while accomplishing the task at hand. This is quality children literature!

This book was of great assistance this last week when we went for a round of appointments. Maggie was scheduled for an MRI, and an ophthalmology check-in. What I forgot was that she also needed to get an x-ray in the walk-in clinic. I only remembered the night before, after we put her to bed.

I had spent the week prior to the appointments talking with Maggie about an MRI, showing her cartoons, discussing with her the noises and making a plan so that she would be as comfortable as possible. I did not have the luxury of this type of preparation with the x-ray, but I did have Franklin’s story.

“Maggie you are going to have an x-ray like Franklin!”

“Yes!” Maggie pumped her arm.

When it came time for the appointment we walked back and lo and behold, there was the exact machine Franklin used. The technician then announced that Maggie had to stand just like Franklin. There was never a more excited 5 year old. She held super still and let out a big pent-up wiggle at the end.

Next was the MRI for a brain scan. The last time Maggie had an MRI she was 2 months old and preparing for her skull surgery. This MRI is to make sure that with all of her growth she still has plenty of space. The cartoon that I had shared with Maggie had a little girl who commented that the contraption that came down over her head looked like a football helmet. This amused Maggie to no end because one item on her gift list is a football helmet. To prepare for the MRI she even wore her, “All you need is 10ve” Packer sweatshirt (She is a big fan of Jordan Love.)

When we walked into the room the machine was exactly as we imagined and had the football helmet contraption. Maggie took no time in walking right up to the machine and waiting for me to lift her up. She nodded when the technicians asked if they could put in ear plugs and readily laid down. They strapped in her upper body and placed the “mask” over her face. Maggie wiggled her eyebrows excitedly and I touched her leg as the table slid backward. The technicians were lovely and gave me headphones to wear and told me to get them if needed. The machine started and there were loud buzzes, but Maggie was okay, and then there were the rhythmic hammer noises, and I could see Maggie’s face change. She wasn’t nervous, she was more intrigued. The hammer sound stopped and then started again. This time Maggie smiled. With a mischievous smile on her lips, her feet, which were the only thing not strapped in, began to tick back and forth to the hammer like twin metronomes. Trying to prevent her from hearing me laugh I turned my head away and saw the technicians smiling and chuckling at our little Maggie.

The ophthalmologist although not as physically involved was just as exciting in that Maggie can still hold off on patching. It has been three months since we last patched and although she has had a slight regression, she is still okay to just keep our normal routine sans eye patches. We also discovered that surgery is off the table for Maggie’s eyes. For this we are extremely thankful.

You may be wondering why Maggie was having x-rays and that is for an upcoming surgery that we have debated for a while. Maggie’s obstructive apnea is particularly an issue when she has any sort of cold/cough; everything becomes inflamed, and she has apnea episodes all through the night. This leads us to a try to keep her healthy, which is near impossible considering the entirely ridiculous number of illnesses that have plagued all of us the last few months.

After our last big meeting with our medical team, they suggested having Maggie’s tonsils and a portion of her adenoids removed. This would allow Maggie much more room in her nasal cavity and throat allowing her to experience less inflammation during illness and less stress on her lungs and heart from apnea episodes. It really seems like a slam dunk decision but to be honest we struggle with the idea of another surgery.

I remember waking up from nightmares as a child. My heart was beating in my chest, and my nerves were highly attuned to any movement. I would lie super still not wanting to be seen by anything in the darkness but know in my mind that if I could get to my parent’s bed and feel their arms around me, I would be fine. The idea of surgery for Maggie is very much like a nightmare where so many things can go wrong and staying still gives me some reassurance that nothing bad will happen. Yet, the benefits of surgery are what lies at the end of the run down the hall.

That next week, after we had spoken to our doctors, we received a request to pray for a family whose son was in a coma after hemorrhaging from an adenoidectomy and tonsillectomy. After a day of prayer, we heard that he had passed away. A few weeks later there was another request for prayer for a young boy who, after living his whole life in the hospital, was receiving a heart transplant. We prayed with great hope and later that evening heard of the sweet boy’s passing.

It still hurts my heart to think of these sweet kids and their families. Please pray for them.

I don’t anticipate Maggie being part of 1-2% statistic but I do know that whenever we send Maggie back for surgery, we are placing her at the hands of doctors and nurses and within the Lord’s mercy. I know from personal experience that the Lord has his own timing for his children, as Job says, “The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away”. I don’t intend to walk into surgeries as if it is all easy, nor do I want to walk into them with no hope. And so we are standing in the hallway ready to run it with Maggie, and man are we going to book it.

Please pray for us as we run. Pray for Maggie that she continues to be a brave girl, pray for her doctors and her surgery and recovery. Please pray for our hearts too that we might not be paralyzed by fear or worry.