Dumas 4: NOT SO HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Dumas 4

Before we are moms, we are women. Before we are women, we are girls. Before we are girls we are children. Few things have stayed constant in my life through all of these stages. My family, my faith and the desire to be a mother. I loved baby dolls as a child. I would enter a world where I was in control of those around me and they had to do what I told them. I foolishly thought that would happen when I became a mother. When I was a girl, I decided I would have 3 children. Two girls and a boy, just as my mother had. I foolishly thought that I got to decide these things when I became a mother. When I became a woman, I decided I would also have a wonderful career alongside these 3 perfect children. I foolishly thought I could do it all. As I lay here in bed recovering from a very simple surgery that had lasting effects on my ability to have more children, there is a photo in my direct line of sight. Its a black and white photo that I cherish. It is from a vacation we took before Emma was even 1 year old. We went to Colorado for a week in the summer to escape the heat of Texas, and the busyness of life. On our way home we stopped in Dumas, TX for a picture. There are not that many people who have the honor of having a last name like Dumas. It is often mispronounced, I'm sure my husband was teased terribly as a child, and I'm certain my daughters will hate it when they hit the 'tween years. But I married into this name. It came with the man I love so I like it. Just before you get to Dumas, Texas, there is a sign that reads "Dumas 4" indicating that you are just 4 miles from the thriving metropolis of Dumas, Texas (population 13,747, a quarter the size of the college I went to). I made my husband and my two daughters (and even my cousin Caitlin who came with us on this trip) get out and take a picture with this sign. At the last second, as the baby was crying and the toddler was whining, I just looked up and snapped one last photo of this sign. I eventually had a black and white made of it and I've always loved it but the "4" part of "Dumas 4" never meant much to me. I always planned that our family would be a family of 5 eventually. Today though, it reminds me that when I snapped that photo, on the side of the highway, in 100 degree heat, God knew I would need a sign. Dumas 4. It is, and always was, His plan for my life. I'm thankful for my sign. I needed a sign. I'd like to have that sign. I wonder what the fine is for stealing a sign that reads "Dumas 4." It might be worth it.

Sunday, March 18, 2007

NOT SO HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Birthdays are a big deal in our house. I love to buy and wrap gifts. I always try to wrap them early and set them out so that everyone has a reminder of the big day coming. This week it was Brooke’s birthday. Her birthday fell on spring break this year so we had to plan her party a few weeks after her actual birthday so I was determined to make her “real” birthday a big day! The only thing she asked for was a pair of shoes called “Healies.” They are really cool shoes with wheels in the bottom so you can “skate” around. So like a “good” mom, I got them for her. So she woke up on her birthday and went straight to the gifts. She opened the “Healies” first! We put them on and she tried to learn but it was hard and she got tired very quickly. At that point, I noticed that her cheeks were flushed. So, I took her temp and she had fever. Bummer. Fever on her birthday. As the hours went on, her fever went up and up. She barely got off the sofa so I knew something was wrong. I took her to the doctor and sure enough, she had strep throat. The doctor said, “She must have a high pain tolerance, she has raging strep throat.” Poor thing. So we headed home, on her birthday, with strep throat. By the next morning she was feeling much better so she put on her new “Healies” and practiced until she got it. She was so excited when John came home that they went outside so that she could show him. She did great. She could take a few steps and roll just like the kids she had seen do it. I was inside cooking dinner when all of the sudden John came barreling through the door carrying Brooke. “She broke her arm Ali!” I have to admit, I thought he might be over reacting until I saw her wrist. My stomach turned. It was obviously broken, bad. So the Dumas family sprang into action and we rushed to the Emergency Room. It seemed like we were waiting forever so John just walked up to the nurse’s station, still cradling Brooke in his arms, and just stood there until they took a look at her. She wasn’t even crying, she just had her head buried in John’s chest with an occasional tear rolling down. Again, my girl has a high pain tolerance. I’m sure they thought she was not injured too badly because she wasn’t screaming in pain but as soon as they looked at it, they sent us back to a room. Sure enough, it was broken. The ER doc called in an orthopedist to talk with us about the “procedure.” It sounded awful but they assured us she would be sedated and not remember (or feel) anything. So after a few hours, they sedated her and reset the bone. They wrapped it up in a cast and bandage and sent us home with plenty of pain killers. We try to make their birthdays so great they will remember them when they grow up. This birthday was not great, but she will definitely remember it for many years to come!

2 comments:

john said...: You failed to mention the new addition to the family that was promised during "sedation". The doc said "Oh she won't remember a thing." Yeah right! he doesn't know Brooke, the little girl with a memory like an elephant!!; March 19, 2007 at 11:16 AM
April said...: Ouch, makes me cry just thinking about it. I do NOT have a high pain tolerance. I'm sorry she went through that. "Just say NO" to healies! So what was promised during sedation?; March 19, 2007 at 8:29 PM