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Wow...

So after my last post, I went to bed, determined to keep my eyes on what the Lord was telling me and trust in Him...
Have you ever heard the phrase, "...be careful what you wish (or in this case, pray) for..."? LOL
The next morning was Sunday, I was looking forward to attending church for the first time in several weeks. Due to work, etc. I hadn't been able to make it and I was hungry for some fellowship and a chance to worship and learn...
Well, my morning started out with a VERY cranky 14month old, who didn't want anything but for me to hold him - not easy to do when trying to dress for church!!
As I was juggling keeping him happy and getting ready - I heard Cadence start screaming from the other room...
She and Justin had been playing, racing each other and the dog had gotten excited and in the process of joining the chase - she ran through Cadie's legs and completely upended her. Cadence landed hard on her head on our marble floor!! No blood and I couldn't find a significant bump, but, with her head of hair that would have been easy to miss! (:
After an initial period of crying, I got her quieted and calmed down enough to eat breakfast. However, off and on she kept grabbing her head, eyes rolling back and then would start crying again, saying her head was hurting "...so bad...". This was very uncharacteristic of Cadence and I was quietly concerned that her head bump might be more serious than I was thinking. But, as a nurse, I went through my checklist 1. she didn't lose consciousness 2. she wasn't throwing up 3. she was alert and oriented, etc.
I decided to continue on with going to church and see how she would do as time went on, but I was praying that God would protect her and keep me calm!!
Over the next 30-45 min she began to complain increasingly of pain and her crying episodes started getting worse. I got her calm enough to sit on the couch with her brothers and watch cartoons as I frantically tried to finish with getting ready for church - which we were now running late for! I was also getting more and more concerned with Cadence and how she was acting. I kept praying and trying to remain calm and quiet - my verses from the previous day kept running through my head, "...you will keep in perfect peace, him whose mind is stayed on Thee..."
"...in quietness and confidence will be your strength..."
"It is the Lord, himself, who goes before you; He will be with you. He will never leave you, nor forsake you. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged."

"Well, she's not throwing up yet, so I guess she is okay..." I thought. Suddenly, I heard a loud wailing from the living room! I ran out to find Cadence, holding her head and crying loudly, "...it hurts... I'm going to throw up... my head hurts...". We made it to the bathroom just in time for her to lose her breakfast.
Now I was worried!! She was acting very odd, her eyes kept rolling back in her head and she wasn't responding to me normally, beyond crying and holding her head. "We are going to the ER!!" I yelled to Joanna, a rush of feelings flooded me as I cleaned her up. Feelings that I had last felt the moment Cj disappeared underwater and we were frantically searching... "God, please don't let this be serious... I don't know if I can handle it if you take her too..." The thoughts racing through my head and the emotions it brought made my stomach twist in knots.
Justin came running into the bathroom, his eyes huge as he grabbed onto my arm, "...mom, I have to go with you - I have to go to the hospital." I looked at him and saw the same fear in his eyes that was running through me - when Cj died, the kids had been sent back to the house and only I had went to the hospital. The kids had spent several hours, thinking that their dad was just sick in the hospital and that he would be saved... only for me to come back home and tell them otherwise. Justin was afraid to let me take Cadence to the hospital and not come back with her.
By the time we got her to the car, Cadence was barely talking and trying to go to sleep and her eyes kept doing odd things; rolling back in her head, etc. Needless to say, I was VERY concerned and the 10min ride to the children's hospital felt like it took forever!
The poor boys were upset about their little sister being hurt, they kept asking questions and making statements, "...what if Cadie dies? She is our only sister... if she dies then we won't have a sister... I don't want her to die..." The whole situation brought out some post traumatic stress in each of us!! We prayed for her and I texted my family and close friends to please be praying for her.
We got to the ER and I was able to relax as we got checked in and I felt like we were in the right place to get the help we might be needing. I started getting replies from my prayer warriors that we were being lifted up and I could feel the peace start seeping in to all of us.
About an hour into our stay at the ER, Cadence suddenly sat up, asked to eat some crackers, drank juice and started watching cartoons - acting like her old self!! We ended up leaving several hours later with a happy and normal girl, with just a mild concussion! Praise God (:
She seems to be just fine, only complaining of her head hurting when she is exerting herself by running or playing hard. We are SO very thankful for God's hand of healing, His sovereign power and the people of God who prayed for us!!

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