’d love to take a moment to introduce my daughter to the world. This 4 year old girl is the embodiment of enthusiasm and positivity. She is fierce, strong, competitive, and has a higher level of empathy for humans than most 4 year old's. When she’s not playing with Play-Doh, Hot Wheels, or channeling her creativity into art, she is playing Minecraft, Rocket League, and Roblox.
To go through what she has gone through in the last few weeks and STILL maintain every essence of her being is so inspiring. The perspective I have gained from this experience alone is something that will last me a lifetime.
On August 6th, Ellie had a follow-up with her pediatrician regarding some issues with constipation. About two hours before the appointment, I knew something more was going on. My bubbly and enthusiastic ray of sunshine was dimmer than I had ever seen. She was tired, her abdomen was distended, she had stopped eating completely, and even though I was finally getting some bowel movements from her, the pain she was experiencing in her back, legs, and stomach was getting worse. I was so sure something else was going on, that day before I left, I told her two older brothers that her appointment might be longer than normal in case I needed to go somewhere for additional testing.
Little did I know that the additional testing would be an 11 day stay in the hospital with words I would never think would ever be associated with my daughter.
When we saw the pediatrician, Ellie had happened to spike a fever on the drive there. I was prepared to fiercely advocate for my daughter with her pediatrician and beg for more to be done than an assumption of constipation. Luckily, my pediatrician required zero convincing from me. As I was telling her everything, failing to hold back any tears as I went through the two prior emergency room visits and her symptoms, she knew something more was going on. She advised that she would be calling Phoenix Children’s Hospital and they would be there waiting for us. She did an incredible job of taking EVERYTHING off my plate so that I could get Ellie to Phoenix Children's Hospital as quickly and as safely as possible.
