The flood & Emily

It's been a while since I've written. Many of you know our last month has been crazy.
Our Emily had a ruptured appendix the day of the heavy rains/typhoon here in the Philippines.

She had gone that morning with friends to Daniel's volleyball game -- we stayed home that day because an out of country friend was stopping by. By 10:30 a.m. that morning, we had lost electricity; and the rains hadn't stopped all through the night. It seemed inevitable that she would have to stay at the school with other stranded game goers. We didn't know she had a ruptured appendix yet, she just was not feeling well.

Daniel and his team never made it to their game; they were stuck in water & stopped traffic on the freeway. They ended up walking to a team members house through the rain & flood waters and stayed the night there -- they walked for an hour..... I was frantic!!

Emily texted saying how terrible she felt, but what could I do? We certainly didn't expect appendicitis, and we couldn't get to her; I thought she had the flu -- all the roads were blocked, which you may have seen on the news.
By morning, the rains had stopped; we still had no electricity and no telephone. We figured the kids would be heading back to us that morning -- little did we know the roads were still blocked with waist-high water, stranded cars and debris.

They had both headed home with their respective families they were traveling with, but had gotten stuck along the way. At 9:00 a.m. our friend called to let us know they had taken Emily to the hospital and they thought she had appendicitis. She had a fever and had been vomiting all night, and was in indescribable pain. I had to get to her! We had no idea what the roads looked like.

We started out in the car, but didn't make it 10 feet on the main road -- cars stopped everywhere; people milling; trees, branches and debris everywhere; road dividers turned over and strewn across the streets -- it was impassible.

Phil brought me to our neighbor, friend and fellow Action missionary; he took me on his motorcycle, and we tried to see if we could get through. Our first try was met with waist deep water; we turned around and tried another way. That was also met with waist high water. I decided to head out and see how far I could get on foot -- the hospital, with traffic, is an hours drive; without traffic, is about 20 to 25 minutes. It's a good jaunt away. I just started walking; the whole time praying for my baby girl to be fine and that the doctor's would have wisdom. Our friends were trying to reach me and I was trying to reach them, but we had no reception on our cell phones -- incredibly frustrating!

The water was waist deep and I just plunged in, and started trudging through it. Hundreds of people were doing the same thing as me -- I wondered, "Why would you be doing this if you didn't have to?" So, I guess they must have had to -- I saw pregnant women, old men & women, infants, children, all walking through muddy water to reach their destination. Each side of the road had people walking in a different direction. Large equipment trucks would pass by with 50+ people on them -- hanging to the sides to get a reprieve from the strong water. I thought, "I've got to get on one of those to get going faster." But, each time they passed by, they were jammed full.

I'd ask of people heading towards me who had already crossed the way I was headed, "How much further?" One man said 2 kilometers, and I thought, "You have got to be kidding!" "Waist high water for another 2 kilometers?" That didn't seem possible! But, he confirmed that to be true.

My mistake -- I always convert kilometers the wrong way -- I double it up, not divide it by 2. So, I thought it meant 4 miles left when in actuality, it was only another mile in waist high water. Phew!!

Until I figured that out; I thought I would have to turn back -- I would never make it another 4 miles in this water. It was too difficult. Then, I heard someone call my name.

Oh yeah, I should tell you I picked up a broken broom along the way to test my footing ahead of me. The Philippines is notorious for having open man holes, so I didn't want to fall in one.

Anyway, back to hearing my name. It was another missionary mom who had been at the game, spent the night and was walking the other direction -- she was with her son, a classmate of Emily's. They had abandoned their car about a half hour back and they were walking home. When she told me it was only a half hour more through that water; I was encouraged and fortified to keep moving forward. I knew once I got through the water; I would still have quite a walk, but at least it was on solid ground. I want to bear witness that when I was ready to give up; the Lord put someone in my path to move me forward. Thank you God!

I should also say that many people were praying for Emily at this time, and for us to make our way to the hospital safely. Everyone I saw on the way that we knew; I told, and Phil quickly let our Action leaders know, who patched it out to the team. Later in the day, I believe he was able to let our stateside girls know.

As I looked to the left, I saw a fishing boat being pulled by a man in the water. The boat was pretty full, but I could see room for myself. It was on the other side of the road, so I started running through the water, and yelling, "I have to get into that boat!" "My daughter's in the hospital, and I have to get there!" I was hoping they would have compassion on me. :) They didn't want to let me in, but I wouldn't take no for an answer and just started getting in. Their eyes all got wide as the boat leaned to one side while I got in; but, it leveled out again. :) The immerged man covered the remaining distance of water quickly, and as soon as the boat grounded, we all hopped out. I handed him 15 pesos and was on my way in only ankle deep water.

Abandoned cars made a maze of the road -- I simply walked wherever there was open space. It was an incredible sight -- the roads weren't cleared for a week; other places still have standing water.

Who should I see in one of the parked cars, but my son and a few members of his team. He got out and we headed toward the hospital. He said I looked like some sort of tribal woman -- I guess I looked pretty crazy :) I was soaked up to my waist from water; my hair was soaked with sweat and I had been pushing it back haphazardly; I had a broken broom as a walking stick and I had strapped my purse around my neck, so it wouldn't get wet. I guess it looked a little crazy, but you parents know -- when it comes to our kids; we'll do anything!

We continued on, trying to hitch rides whenever we could. People didn't seem to want to give rides -- I'm not sure why. Maybe they were afraid to be stopped & robbed -- I really don't know. Public transportation is very available in the Philippines on a regular basis; but, this was not regular, so there was no guarantee of a ride. I tried hitching with a man on a motorcycle; a van; a truck and a jeepney; but nothing. When the next van drove past me; I called him a jerk and slapped my hand on his window. Yikes!
Dan said, "Mom, let me flag down the rides and no more hitting cars." Wise boy. :)

We picked up several rides and then were able to land a taxi, which took us the last 5 miles. I almost couldn't believe it when he said he could take us the rest of the way to the hospital! I was so thankful!!

When we arrived, Emily was in the emergency room and they were getting ready to admit her. They felt as though her appendix had ruptured; she was fighting the infection, and we were waiting for a physician. Several more tests were done to verify the rupture, and to rule out anything female. Low and behold, they found a cyst on her left ovary. This was shocking to say the least. I remember thinking, "We'll just take one crisis at a time, and concentrate on the ruptured appendix, and deal with the cyst after." I also thought that in God's Providence, this may be the reason she had a ruptured appendix -- to find the cyst.

They decided to do a more exploratory incision because of the cyst on the left and the ruptured appendix on the right. So, she had an incision from under her belly button to just about her pubic area -- like a cesarean. They had started giving her antibiotics about 5 p.m. --- not soon enough for me. I knew we were in a race against time with the infection that was going through her body from the ruptured appendix. We were still waiting for the surgeon to arrive -- he was caught out in the waters somewhere. We finally requested another Dr. When he saw Emily, he had a 2 hour surgery ahead of her -- my patience was getting tested. She went into surgery at 7:30 p.m. about 12 hours after she arrived to the hospital; and probably 24 to 36 hours after her appendix ruptured.

I believe the Dr. we had was God's choice and that's why the other Dr. was not able to arrive. This new Dr. was God's annointed to do the surgery on our Emily.

The surgeon removed her appendix and cleaned out the puss; the OB - GYN drained her cyst. It turned out to be a follicular cyst which can fill up with liquid. The body typically absorbs the liquid, but hers didn't. She said it had no characteristics of cancer, and she was not worried at all. It was a "normal, abnormal." She will have a follow-up ultra-sound and CT scan within the next few weeks for the cyst.

Through it all, Emily was incredibly brave. We are so proud of her. Her friends were gems to her -- they were prayer warriors for her, and encouraged her all the way. Our friends and family lifted her and us up in prayer; and God healed her. He took away her infection, and cleared up the few complications she had after the surgery. Emily knew that God had safely placed her on the right side of the water, so she could get to the hospital. I'm not sure how she would have gotten to a hospital if she had been at home with us. She was with other missionary women that I trust and respect, and they took care of her. Our friend, was stayed with her and us through the surgery that night, is a nurse, and speaks fluent Tagalog, so she was there to help Emily and us. Thank you God for going before us and putting everyone and everything in place.

Colossians 1:17 says "He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." Amen to that!

Well, there's more to say, but I've talked a lot already.
God used this to touch Emily's heart & open her eyes and I am thankful for that -- she is too.
She loved the Lord before this, but He showed His faithfulness to her, and that has changed her. :)

Blessings to you all, and may God meet you in your lives.
Julie :)