We arrived at the hospital for the ultrasound and the bloodwork shortly before 9:00 a.m. My little Angel Baby had not eaten since noon the previous day, because, having been visiting the doctor during the day, she had missed her nap and passed out cold at 4:30 p.m., not to awaken until 7:30 a.m. the morning of the tests...

The ultrasound was intense. With two technicians present, there were 36 pictures taken of Kristen's left kidney, right kidney, liver, spleen, and aorta. I was queried on her symptoms and whether she had been through a previous ultrasound. At one point, one of the technicians pointed to a little white blur behind one of the arteries at the aorta and mentioned that "that" looked like something...

After the ultrasound, we went to the lab for the bloodwork. Kristen is a tiny little thing - her left arm was already bruised from the bloodwork the previous Sunday; her right arm was having trouble showing a promising vein. Finally, she was punctured in the right arm. After several of the longest minutes I have spent, the technician "gave up" on the arm... not even a fourth of the first vial had been filled. After brief discussion through the (quite loud) crying, we decided the fingers were the only option.

You really can't imagine how difficult it is to forcefully hold down someone you love as some relative stranger pierces their fingers, and then squeezes repeatedly until enough blood is let to fill two vials...

Kristen left with my parents; I departed for work. The technicians in the ultrasound lab assured me I would hear something that afternoon from my pediatrician. I arrived at work at 10:30 a.m., a shell of a person. I can't remember ever really caring what was going on around me throughout the day. I had spent most of the previous night and the present early morning crying, trying to prepare for what might be... And I watched the clock...

At 3:00 p.m., I telephoned the pediatrician's office and spoke with the nurse. No, they had not received the results. They would call the hospital to request the results be faxed, and call me back. I waited until 4:00 p.m., and I called back (this time, nearly frantic... I was sure I could not make it through another night...). The nurse asked me to hold for a moment - she would go check the fax machine. She came back to the phone and said she would call me back in five minutes - she promised just five minutes!...

I waited five minutes, then six, then seven... After eight minutes the telephone rang. Maybe... When I answered, it was not the nurse, it was the doctor, and I believe what little bit that was left of my heart sank completely out of my body. And the doctor said she had the results, and Kristen's tests were...

Normal!!!! My Angel Baby was not leaving me!!! Normal!!! Oh, relief, explosion right in the middle of my brain, can't believe my ears... Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you...

We believe that Kristen's stomach lining suffered extreme damage during the early part of her illness (which, by the way, came shortly after the most severe case of chicken pox I have ever seen), causing super-sensitivity to milk products and sugars. Sugars? I didn't stop her from eating sugars!!! I only stopped the milk stuff... A bland diet, free of milk products and sugars, and she should be back to complete normalcy in three to four weeks...

I love my children; I love them with all my heart and my soul and my mind. Oh, yes, they're normal kids - they destroy the house and fight and argue and cry and sometimes make my life a living disaster. But I just can't imagine life without them in the same world with me. And I don't want to. They are my friends, my companions, my joy, my laughter.

To all my dear friends that cried with me through those 24 hours... to all of you that share the same compassion for our young... I thank you and I love you.

Angel Baby, mommy won't ever forget this. Mommy won't ever forget how weak she was and how strong you were. Maybe there's a lot more I can learn from you before I have what it takes to share myself with you... Thank you, thank you, thank you. My wonderful life continues with you...