She is the one who was driving when we were hit by the semi in November.
She just had the baby Paul with Down's Syndrome.
They have 5 children, Katie, Bethie, Matthew, Esther, and Paul.
Here is a piece Steve wrote this afternoon. They said I could share it here. Prayers are needed.
She is still in a Lot of pain and not sleeping well. That is a big reason why I've been taking the kids the last several weeks for her to do their homeschooling. She brings them to me on Tuesday, hangs out and putters in my kitchen and catches up on computer time. On Fridays, she returns to pick them up. So they had just gotten home and slept when they called this morning - my Dad went and got the 4 older ones so they could go to the Dr. this morning. They swung by to pick up the kids, I fed them supper, the big girls helped bathe the kids, and we only sent Esther home.
Karen had a rough night last night. We've been sitting on a piece of news because it seemed rather vague and we've been waiting for more news from the Dr.
Short story, Karen has a mass in her abdomen that the midwife identified at her 6 week post-partum check. We went to see our GP immediately, who ordered a sonogram the following week. When it came back, he said that her left ovary was enlarged and since the image was not very clear regarding what it was, he wanted a Gynecologist to give a second opinion. When I questioned him, he said it could be cancer but it was much more likely that it isn't. So, we waited all week for a call scheduling that appointment, but one never came.
Meanwhile, last night I woke up about 3:50-something to the sounds of Karen throwing up and breathing the way she does during labor, kind of tremblingly with some vocal involvement with each breath. She complained of "pretty sharp" pain in her left abdomen, said that she'd taken an ibuprofen about an hour previously, and that she was cold. It seemed to me that her nausea was due to pain and being a little shocky.
I called the clinic hoping to find her Dr. on call, but he wasn't, and the nurse plainly said that although the Dr. on call could do little but send her to the ER, there would be a Saturday clinic if we could get there by or soon after 8:30. Shortly after this, her pain began to subside, enough that when Paul started stirring, she was able to feed him and even lie down, after about 20 minutes. Taking the Old Soldier's advice to grab sleep when possible, I lay down too and slept until 8. Karen says she only dozed.
We headed to the clinic and there they took a urinanalysis (normal) to make sure she wasn't having a kidney stone. We didn't learn much, but what we did learn was vaguely hopeful. We got to read the sono report, which described an amorphous mass on her left side (shockingly, of 5.9" diameter), with some evidence of structure (meaning not a plain old fluid cyst). While that may not seem like a good thing to learn, I prefer information to ignorance. The Dr. theorized that this mass may have ruptured (the peak of her pain last night) and if so, the fluid would be resorbed and she stays (relatively) pain free she could wait until her GC appt, which it turns out was scheduled for Tues. afternoon, 2:30 -- they just apparently forgot to call us. He also said that, things being what they appear, the GC will probably order surgery "pretty quick" (read: immediately). On the plus side, neither the Dr. nor Karen could actually find the mass this morning, which Dr. said was a good sign.
So, we earnestly seek your prayers in this matter! Karen will start pumping breast milk to store up a supply so Paul can eat if she goes to surgery as now seems likely, and to keep herself going too, assuming a good outcome. We will also need child care Tues afternoon so I can take Karen to the GC. So if any of you reading this have time on your hands Tues afternoon and would like to volunteer...? First come, first served! :^D
Love,
--Steve
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