Despite our expectations, Jamie never heard back from the TOMS shoes internship here in Santa Monica, even after a very drawn out application process and confusing emails. As a result she was not able to come out to LA for the summer, which meant she and I wouldn’t see each other until August. This was a very confusing and difficult time for both of us. Neither of us were clear as to why after such a long and complicated application process for the internship, God would let everything fall through at the last minute. Not much time passed before it became very clear to everyone why she wasn’t in LA for the summer.
On May 27th, around 2 am, Jamie’s appendix decided it had spent enough time not doing anything for her, and quite violently informed most of the rest of her digestive system that it was ready to leave. After a very unpleasant few hours, Jamie was rushed into the ER for an appendectomy. Her father called me just as she was about to go into surgery. By noon that morning she was able to call me herself. Everything had gone very smoothly; she was even able to go home that day. While it was very difficult not being there for her, the operation was successful, and she was doing well.
Had she been part of the TOMS internship, the timing of her appendicitis and recovery may have allowed her just enough of a window to make it out here. However, after seven full days of being home, eating regular food and going on regular walks, Jamie was once again rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night on June 4th. The pain was coming from the same area as before, but this time much, much worse. Jamie was once again reattached to an IV filling her system with narcotic pain killers. She was very drowsy because of the medication, but still able to speak to me on the phone. The only information I really knew was that when she first came in that morning, the doctors thought they would have to do corrective surgery because of some mistake from her appendectomy, but that they ruled that out right away. Apparently it was something that would just take care of itself.
I desperately wanted to be with Jamie while she was going through all of this, but had no idea how I could afford to. Less than an hour after that thought, I was pointed towards an affordable round trip airline ticket that left that night for Denver. Needless to say, I jumped at the opportunity, cleared up everything at work, and left that night. Jamie had no idea I was coming, and didn’t know I was there until I walked through the hospital door at midnight. Since I was there, her family was able to take a much needed break from staying with Jamie since 2 am the previous night.
I spent most of the next four days and nights by Jamie’s side. I wont go into detail of what Jamie had to go through in those days because
- I don’t think you want to know.
- Neither of us want to remember.
Nearing the end of my stay, Jamie was not in much better of a condition than when I had arrived. In fact, she got worse just about every day that I had been there. However, the doctors assured us that had something serious happened during her previous surgery, they would know, and Jamie would definitely be feeling it. They were very confident that this was simply an inoperative digestive system that would start itself up on its own with time. So with what seemed to be comforting information, I left Jamie with her family’s care and flew back to LA on the 7th of June.
To my surprise, I received a call from Jamie’s sister the next day. Jamie was once again being rushed to the ER. After one final test, the doctors were able to identify the real cause of Jamie’s predicament, and we’re forced to operate again. Turns out Jamie had scar tissue around the outside of her large intestine, pinching off her digestive system like a rubber band. Before I knew it, the operation had finished, the scar tissue was removed, and Jamie was quickly recovering. Four days later on the 12th, Jamie was able to go home. This operation was a little more evasive than the original appendectomy, so she’s been healing slower. However, she has improved every day that she has been home, and has had no signs of any irregularities.
During my stay with Jamie I had the most traumatic experience of my life. At one very brief point I was actually in fear for her life. It became very clear to me exactly why Jamie hadn’t been a part of the TOMS internship. Had she come to LA, I don’t know how I would’ve ever been able to deal with such an ordeal on my own. Jamie needed to be at home with her family through this. As soon as I realized that, all of my frustration with not being able to have her here disappeared. I once again was reminded that no matter how frustrating He can be sometimes, God knows what He’s doing. He has a reason for everything that happens, and forgetting that only leads to stress and frustration.
I am so glad that my baby is fine, and can’t wait for this August.
