A Prayer for Emma

Tomorrow, my middle child, Emma, will be having an outpatient medical procedure, and I would appreciate your prayers that all goes well.

She has been complaining for a while that her stomach hurt, often when we would all sit down to dinner. So for a while, we thought she was trying to get out of eating dinner. But one day I called her bluff and asked if she wanted to go to the doctor, and she surprisingly replied "yes.". (And, as a side note, I hate that the ignorant iPad programmer adds an extra period after quotation marks--drives this former English teacher batty.)

So we saw a nurse practitioner who has three daughters with celiac disease (gluten intolerance). She checked out Emma thoroughly, even bringing in a fellow ped to check for appendicitis. When the NP heard that my mom has celiac, she ordered a blood test for Emma. Emma's blood work showed a high level of antibodies, meaning it is very likely that she is gluten intolerant. Tomorrow's test will help us know for sure.

What does this mean? Well, it may mean that we need to change Emma's diet significantly, and by association, that of the whole family. Wheat is in many things, and even sneaks its way into soups and salad dressings and things we don't think about. But we are certainly better off eating apple slices versus Cheez-It's, in any case.

I am in prayer that the procedure goes well tomorrow, that the doctors and nurses find what they need, and that Emma doesn't react badly to the anesthesia (she is my drama princess, after all!).

Thanks to all for continuing to lift us up!