Expect the Unexpected
On November 20, 2019 by Keturah HaferkampThe surprise is not that it happened but that it happened in China.
She was “turning around in her bedroom” when she felt her knee snap. Her eyes grew wide and she stared into me. “Look at my knee! Look at my knee” she cried. And I could read the pain in her face.
I looked, meek, obedient. She rarely made demands.
Her knee was…beside itself. Not in its socket. And her muscles in her neck were bulged and tense. She was fighting back screams of agony. She whispered again and again and again, “Jesus help me. Jesus help me.” Quiet screaming.
We spent Taco Tuesday in the ER— not eating tacos. Much to my other child’s dismay, we were NOT eating the promised tacos. Everybody was aching. Some in the knees, some in the tummy.
We did not get home until very late. In China the hospital fees must be paid before being admitted. If you can’t pay or if there is a long line at the payment counter, you just wait.
We waited. We asked about insurance. We were rejected. We paid. We saw a doctor. He recommended a CT scan. We paid again. We had the scan. He recommended a temporary cast. We paid again. We got the cast. He advised to not walk on the leg, no weight whatsoever–crutches he said. We paid again, and after wandering through the dark corridors of a very beautiful hospital wing, I found a pharmacy that sold crutches! Then we paid again for the most fantastical taxi ride….so bizarre it could have been a Lewis Carroll feature story.
Now we have a kid on crutches in China and Taco Wednesday for lunch.
🌮 🌮 🌮
Tomorrow is Thankful Thursday in our house. Thankful Thursday is our family tradition. On Thursday’s we reflect aloud what things we are grateful for. This week I’m thankful for a mostly healthy child and a health insurance policy that reaches across the world to reimburse out of pocket expenses.