His Care

I was briskly woken up at 1am. Austin was crying an unusual cry. I met him in his room. He was sitting up in his bed mumbling through his cry, "My tummy hurts, my tummy hurts, my tummy hurts..." Initially he didn't want to come down, he didn't want to me to hold him, he didn't want to go to the bathroom. He just squirmed and incessantly repeated, "My tummy hurts, my tummy hurts, my tummy hurts..." I finally got him to come down and use the restroom, but there was no consoling him. I woke Aaron up. He was puzzled by Austin's condition. I had never seen Austin like this. He's had big falls, he's been sick, but I'd never seen my baby squirm in pain. At one point he even got on the floor in a fetal position. My mind raced:

What in the world are we going to do?
Should we take him to the hospital?
Do we both go and drag Jonathan along or does just one of us go?
Where is the closest hospital anyway?
How do we call a cab at this time of night?
Is it serious?
Are we dealing with something time sensitive?
Should we call an ambulance?
How do you call an ambulance?

It's times like these that I feel like yelling out, "Where's the adult here to tell me what do to?!?!"
I felt so helpless. Austin was still inconsolable. What could be wrong with him? At this point his stomach is red from him rubbing it so much.  I ended up crying with him. Aaron said we should probably take him in to the ER. We decide that one of us would go so we didn't have to wake Jonathan. Austin was stuck like clue to me. I knew would be the one that would have to go with him. The thought of getting in a cab to go to the hospital in São Paulo alone with my sick kid at 2am brought panic to me.

Rachel, your neighbor, is a pediatrician. Call her.

It was as if God whispered that in my ear. I'd only had a few exchanges with Rachel because she and her husband left for vacation shortly after we met. They spent nearly a month in the US and just arrived back a few days ago. In the couple times we chatted before they left, she mentioned she was a pediatrician and said to let her know if we ever needed anything.

Though I felt horrible for waking her, I was so incredibly relieved to hear her voice on the other line. She was calm and willing to help. She had me bring Austin over (she literally lives across the hall - we didn't even have to take the elevator!). After a quick exam, she deduced that Austin had a lot of gas, and cramping that may lead to diarrhea. Whew - that's it? She even had medication for gas cramping that we were able to give him. By 2:30, my baby was sound asleep as if nothing had happened!

I cannot begin to express how God's care for me is so incredibly personal! My neighbor across the hall is a pediatrician. The fact that I even knew that, seemed miraculous at 2am last night. She was so gracious and loving. She called to check on Austin this morning. No ER visit for gas, no cab ride in the middle of the night. No exploration of hospitals. Just a quick trip across the hall to meet to be met with a smile and a calm voice. Her expertise assured us that everything was fine and that Austin would be OK. What could have been an ordeal of countless hours, lasted 45 minutes. God takes care of us. I have seen it over and over again in this transition to Brazil. Today I am overwhelmed with gratitude for it!