I (Jamin) have more respect for this country now than I did this morning.  This morning I didn't have quite the appreciation for the medical facilities, and the ease of service, and the genuine interest in our well-being as Americans that our government has given us.

This evening I got to see it all in action, and having seen the medical services overseas growing up, and anticipating living in a country without adequate medical facilities, I realize just how good we have it.

From my perspective, I was at work, with only one more hour left before the end of the day.  It was noisy in the hangar I was working in, and it turns out I missed two frantic phone calls from my very concerned wife.  She was smart, though, and called Dustin, my coworker and friend who happened to be in the more quiet, adjoining hangar.  The first thing I hear is Dustin saying, "Jamin, it's your wife" as he hands me the phone.  Little did I know that I was in for six hours of stress and emotional tension.

Esther had taken a spill by tipping over a chair, with herself in it.  The result was a mess.  Esther had split open her lip and was bleeding from inside her mouth; A LOT. It took Daddy rushing home to hold her and humor her with some Veggie Tales for her to simply cry and not scream.  That permitted Mommy to call the doctor and find someone to watch baby brother.

We're so grateful for the blessing and comfort that the Compass Aviation Ministry family is to us.  The Edmonds gladly took care of Jaren, while everyone else lifted us up in prayer as we went to the children's clinic, where we were told we had two options: leave it alone and let it leave a really ugly scar on Esther's famous smile, or take her to the Emergency Room and get stitches.

We opted for the stitches, and were very glad we did when the doctor discovered more extensive damage to her gums and frenulum (the bit of skin that connects your upper lip to your gums).

Esther did very well, and we are so proud of our tough little girl.  She was walking around on her own, not crying, before we went to the emergency room, even smiling for the camera despite her injuries! And although she cried a lot when she was injected to put her in conscious sedation, she was obedient and didn't kick or scream.

It hurt us, as parents, to see her being put through all this; especially seeing our lively and upbeat girl quickly turn limp and unresponsive.

The procedure went quickly, and it wasn't more than 25 minutes and she was slowly starting to wake up again, moaning for daddy.  We spent another few hours as she woke up, making sure she could keep a few liquids down and that she was recovering fully from the drugs.

At home again, six hours later, we were all able to change out of our blood-stained clothes, and after singing and praying with Esther, she said, as she always does, "goodnight, close a door."  I tried to leave the door open so that there was more light in the room so she wouldn't get scared in the dark (because an aftereffect of the sedation drugs is oftentimes nightmares), but Esther said, very sternly, "no, daddy; not leave it open. close a door."



All that said, we are very glad that our Esther is a tough little girl, and bounces back quickly.  We're also very grateful to our God that the cuts weren't worse, and that the doctor was able to find and fix things that would have otherwise gone unnoticed.  We're also thankful to God that we live in this country, which has helped provide us with amazing medical care.  And last but certainly not least, we're SO thankful for those who have lifted us up in prayer and who continue to do so; entrusting us into the hands of a loving and caring God who works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.