Whewww!

Yesterday I took Corey for another x-ray and to see the doctor one more time before everyone was gone for the weekend/ Christmas break. There was no change. No bad news. No good news. Just an instruction to go home, wait, drink a lot, and take pain meds... some more. I didn't realize until I got back to the car how very much I had hoped that this trip to the doctor would end this experience for our family. I hated that Corey had been in pain and unable to work for a week! I could see Christmas on the horizon with no way of "getting it all done" by myself before then. I felt tired and weary and frustrated. I cried all day... at every little thing. Obviously, it was not all about the stone but more about my frustration with life in general. I truly did not know how much more I could take. God and I had our first ever out-load yelling match. Well, I did. He just listened.

That afternoon Corey wanted to take the kids shopping, so he could let them get Christmas gifts for me. There's one thing though... I had to drive them there because he is on pain killers. We have tried to do this a few times this week, but have failed each time as he could not tolerate the pain once he got up and out. Yesterday, he seemed okay though. So, while Cooper and I were in "Barnes & Noble Jail" (It really wasn't too bad - for jail.), he and the big kids did their shopping.

Then, it started. No, not Corey this time. It was Allie. Her ear was really aching. We tried to keep moving, but after an hour or so of her holding her ear and whimpering she was in full-blown wails. After many prayers, a call to her doctor, a pharmacy stop, some medicine that didn't seem to make a dent in her pain, another trip to the pharmacy, and many many many tears and yells and screams, Allie and I headed out at 10:30pm for the urgent care center. She, in fact, had a terrible ear infection. Lots of puss and bulging. After some motrin and ear drops for pain at the urgent care place, we were off to the 24-hour pharmacy. Finally, at 1:30am, we made it home and with the help of some Tylenol with Codeine (her, not me... although I would have liked some too) we finally fell asleep.

When we were driving to the pharmacy to get her new prescriptions, I called Corey to give him the update on Allie, and he gave me his WONDERFUL, FABULOUS news! The stone had passed. Thank God! It took a week, almost to the moment, but he passed it!

So, we are all a bit exhausted from the week long ordeal and Allie is still not 100%, but we are so thankful that we are all on the mend before Christmas. I call it our Christmas Miracle. ;)

For anyone interested... here are some pictures I found online of what poor Corey has been battling. Small, but immensely painful!