Darby~The Red Incredible Hulk!

Dallas and I went to Israel for ten days in February.  We left our children with my mother-in-law.  I not going to lie.  I was pretty nervous about leaving Darby in her (or anyone else's) care for such an extended time.  Thankfully, she only lost one of our children one time, and it was Naomi (surprisingly enough). 

Our ten days in Israel were glorious!  We visited our best friends in the world, who also are our children's godparents.  One night, our friend, Stewart, said, "Do you think being in Israel has done good things for your marriage?"  I said (half jokingly), "I think being away from our kids has done good things for our marriage."  All joking aside, yes, "Children are a gift from the Lord."  But, in the absence of my children, I was actually able to focus on and enjoy my husband for ten whole days!  That, and I needed a BREAK! 

Darby was scheduled for eye surgery the week after our return from Israel.  Our other daughter, Naomi, had the same surgery when she was three, so I knew what to expect.  I spent the entire duration of Naomi's surgery half crying in the "quiet room" reading any story in Scripture in which Jesus healed someone with a vision impairment or blindness.  The day of Naomi's surgery was the worst day of my life.  Yeah, I knew what to expect, and I was NOT looking forward to it.  Darby's surgery went off without a hitch.  The doctor was thrilled, and so was this relieved mama! When it was time to go back to the recovery area, I was a little nervous because what I've realized over time is that I don't really handle myself well when my family members are in pain.  We got back there, and Darby was peacefully sleeping.  Swollen, but she looked perfect.  Then she woke up.

No lie.  Darby went from "Sleeping Beauty" mode to the Incredible Hulk.  Speaking of the Incredible Hulk, it was actually incredible to see what happened next.  She jumped to her feet, ripped the IV out of her arms, yanked on tubes and cords, and started ripping her miniature hospital gown off,  all while surfing on her hospital bed, screaming.  Alarms were sounding, lights flashing, people running, baby screaming...all while I stood there dumbfounded, arguably catatonic.  Do we tackle her?!  We can't let her fall of the bed!  I've only seen stuff like this in movies (hence, the Incredible Hulk reference)!  After a solid hour of trying to console her, they finally released her.  We bee-lined for the car, but right before we made it to the parking garage, she threw up...ALL...OVER...HERSELF, ME, DALLAS AND the floor.  We went straight back up to recovery.  That day did not turn out to be the worst day of my life, but quite possibly the longest.  I'm glad it's over, and we can move forward on our journey toward 20/20 vision!

My status on March 1, 2012 upon our return from Israel:
While we were gone, my mother-in-law, Carol Hills, walked into Darby's room when nap time was over. There were books everywhere.
Carol: "What are you doing in here?"
Darby: "Playing football."