On Tuesday morning, I ran into school for an hour or so to leave everything in order. I'd be leaving for a week, gone during the pay period for students and payroll time for employees. I left all of the food and payments and said goodbye to the kids and teachers. The plan was to get things ready at home and finish my day teaching at the university. When I got home, I would pack my bags, snuggle my kids and get a good night's rest before heading to Florida on Wednesday morning.
You know what they say about the best laid plans, right? Well, I got home and my daughter had been throwing up since I left. She needed to go to the doctors to make sure it was nothing serious. Her dad came home from work to take her, and I organized my class plans and got ready for work. He called and told me that they were now in the emergency room where she was getting rehydrated and having a blood panel and other tests run.
The test results said she had not one, but two lovely parasites - each of which was resistant to one of the two anti-parasite meds, which meant she'd need to get both. Intravenously. Overnight. In the hospital.
On a normal day, this wouldn't be an concern - parasites are fairly common on the island and we are lucky to have good medical insurance. But, I still hadn't packed or prepared anything for my trip. I shot off an email to my mission partner letting him know what was up. He wrote back quickly, saying he's praying for our daughter. It then said Emmanuel.
My mission partner is Korean. He uses at least two names when he signs - I call him by his last name, but Dominicans and Haitians call him Santiago, but never Emmanuel. I was confused. Did he change his name again?
I rushed home after my last class and threw all of my things in a suitcase, grabbed some sheets and a pillow and called a taxi to take me to the airport. I ran into our neighbor's house and kissed my youngest son goodbye while he slept. I arrived at the hospital and had to convince the security guard to let me in since it was well past visiting hours, and my husband and oldest son left for home.
In the morning, my stomach began to hurt. I knew what was happening - I had the parasite! And needed to get on a plane in a few short hours. The pediatrician graciously wrote me a prescription with instructions to drink plenty of fluids. I opened my email before I left the hospital to check in for my flight and saw the email from my partner again - signed Emmanuel.
You can probably imagine my anxiety - using the airplane bathroom is not fun in ordinary circumstances. You have to climb over your seat mates, wait in line and then feel bad that people are waiting for you to finish. It's not ideal. When I got on the plane though, it wasn't even half full! I had no seat mates to climb over and no lines to wait in for the bathroom. It seems like a small thing, but it was a real gift.
I made it to Florida without a hitch. I rented a car and headed to see my grandfather in central Florida. I then traveled on to the coast for a weekend full of meeting and organizing and planning and more. I was able to meet with people who are interested in supporting Futuro, people who are coming to partner with us, and people who are helping us become a legal foundation in the US. Through it all, my parasite did its thing, but I didn't feel terrible.
On Friday, we filed articles of incorporation in the state of Florida for Futuro, and it was thrilling. I opened my email to check for the receipt and saw the email from my partner again - Emmanuel. I realized he wasn't signing his name. He was telling me God is with us. It was tacked onto an email about praying for my daughter and for my trip. God is with us - Emmanuel.
I believe that God is with us. God is with us through the good and the bad, through the parasitic infections that threaten to derail our plans and through the healthy times as well. There are big things in store for our community, I can feel it and I choose to continue to believe in Emmanuel - God is with us.
You know what they say about the best laid plans, right? Well, I got home and my daughter had been throwing up since I left. She needed to go to the doctors to make sure it was nothing serious. Her dad came home from work to take her, and I organized my class plans and got ready for work. He called and told me that they were now in the emergency room where she was getting rehydrated and having a blood panel and other tests run.
The test results said she had not one, but two lovely parasites - each of which was resistant to one of the two anti-parasite meds, which meant she'd need to get both. Intravenously. Overnight. In the hospital.
On a normal day, this wouldn't be an concern - parasites are fairly common on the island and we are lucky to have good medical insurance. But, I still hadn't packed or prepared anything for my trip. I shot off an email to my mission partner letting him know what was up. He wrote back quickly, saying he's praying for our daughter. It then said Emmanuel.
My mission partner is Korean. He uses at least two names when he signs - I call him by his last name, but Dominicans and Haitians call him Santiago, but never Emmanuel. I was confused. Did he change his name again?
I rushed home after my last class and threw all of my things in a suitcase, grabbed some sheets and a pillow and called a taxi to take me to the airport. I ran into our neighbor's house and kissed my youngest son goodbye while he slept. I arrived at the hospital and had to convince the security guard to let me in since it was well past visiting hours, and my husband and oldest son left for home.
In the morning, my stomach began to hurt. I knew what was happening - I had the parasite! And needed to get on a plane in a few short hours. The pediatrician graciously wrote me a prescription with instructions to drink plenty of fluids. I opened my email before I left the hospital to check in for my flight and saw the email from my partner again - signed Emmanuel.
You can probably imagine my anxiety - using the airplane bathroom is not fun in ordinary circumstances. You have to climb over your seat mates, wait in line and then feel bad that people are waiting for you to finish. It's not ideal. When I got on the plane though, it wasn't even half full! I had no seat mates to climb over and no lines to wait in for the bathroom. It seems like a small thing, but it was a real gift.
I made it to Florida without a hitch. I rented a car and headed to see my grandfather in central Florida. I then traveled on to the coast for a weekend full of meeting and organizing and planning and more. I was able to meet with people who are interested in supporting Futuro, people who are coming to partner with us, and people who are helping us become a legal foundation in the US. Through it all, my parasite did its thing, but I didn't feel terrible.
On Friday, we filed articles of incorporation in the state of Florida for Futuro, and it was thrilling. I opened my email to check for the receipt and saw the email from my partner again - Emmanuel. I realized he wasn't signing his name. He was telling me God is with us. It was tacked onto an email about praying for my daughter and for my trip. God is with us - Emmanuel.
I believe that God is with us. God is with us through the good and the bad, through the parasitic infections that threaten to derail our plans and through the healthy times as well. There are big things in store for our community, I can feel it and I choose to continue to believe in Emmanuel - God is with us.
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