Tender Mercies

A couple days after surgery



Many of you know that the last few months have been a little trying for us. We have had several ER visits, unexpected procedures, xrays and surgeries to say the least.

If there has ever been a time to say we are being tested, well were there. I just wanted to jot down a few of my thoughts about the most recent events. I have learned some lessons and don't want to forget them.

The weekend of the deer hunt break my little Emilio told me his tooth hurt. He has had problems in the past so I decided to call the Dentist right away to get him in. Of course the dentist was gone deer hunting. They made an apt for us on Monday and called in an antibiotic to get us through the weekend. He fevered all weekend even with the medicine. Nothing I gave him would break his fever. On Sunday morning an abscess finally appeared in his mouth. I had him stay home from church with Carlos. The whole day I just felt sick, I knew something was wrong.I even tried calling the clinic on Sunday hoping I would get a cell phone number for the dentist. I did get a number but there was no answer. He was no longer eating and we had been up with him crying for 3 nights in a row. Carlos went into work and I asked him to please run home and give him a blessing. He was unable to get off work and all I could do was pray that we could make it until morning for his dentist apt.

I got Emilio up at 6:30 on Monday morning and him and I headed to the dentist. I still felt sick inside. I told the Dentist what was going on and he opened up the abscess. He looked at me and said he is a very sick little boy and needs to see a surgeon right now. Before I knew it we were getting kids situated and calling neighbors to find someone to help Carlos give him a blessing. Carlos called in sick and we headed to St. George to the surgeons. The surgeon told us all the bad things it could be. Believe me there were many. We were even told it could be a tumor or that if it was infection it could possibly spread to the brain. You can only imagine the tears falling off my face at that time. They took Emilio back immediately and operated. The Dr came out and told us he did well and that the infection he had was connected to the sinuses causing a hole in his bone. They took some biopsies and he ordered a cat scan for the next day. We were given strict orders to keep him home for a week until he saw the surgeon again. His immune system was in bad shape. That was one of the longest weeks for Carlos and myself as we waited for results.

On to the lessons learned........The following morning Carlos and I knelt in prayer asking for answers on behalf of our son and our family. We were looking for some kind of enlightenment on why we were having so many trials and asking Heavenly Father to help bear us up through the hard times we were having. Once again, I was bawling my head off. We had truly gotten to a breaking point that week. I can't even explain the spirit that we felt. We came away feeling a sense of gratitude for the Holy Ghost that kept witnessing to me that something wasn't right. We were grateful for a Dentist and Surgeon that acted so quickly and skillfully in a situation that could have turned detrimentally worse for our son. We truly felt the comfort and Tender Mercies that come from the spirit when it feels like you have had all you can handle. The love and support that came from family and friends was more than we could ever explain.

Emilio is now doing much better although not completely cleared. His biopsies came back good and in a month we will follow up to see if the hole in his bone has healed. If not, he will have surgery again to graft in some bone. We are hopeful and most of all thankful for Tender Mercies.