The Arrival

Her blood pressure soared up to 180/120, and the residents were not certain what to do. It was in the wee hours of the morning when her specialists were at home in bed, and I could tell these doctors were scared. I kept on saying "Give her a nifedipine, please - she needs a nifedipine", which is a medication which lowers the blood pressure dramatically. One young doctor kept on asking TP the same questions over and over again, and TP was beginning to get disoriented as her blood pressure kept on steadily increasing - and I was getting furious. I finally looked at the nurse, and I said "Doesn't he hear me? Don't you have an order written in her chart to give her a nifedipine on a prn basis?". The nurse nodded her head in assent, and so I looked at the resident again and loudly repeated my request. He looked at me with a blank look and an eyebrow raised, and abruptly left the room with all the other residents. I looked at the nurse helplessly, and she quickly turned around and followed the others. Five seconds later, the young doctor came back in with a nifedipine, and gave it to TP. Within minutes, TP's blood pressure started going down, and I breathed a huge sigh of relief.

The next morning, TP and I had a long discussion about what had happened and why. She was clearly upset that the resident didn't respond to my requests, and equally upset that the nurse didn't speak up. She said, "When I become a nurse, I will NOT just stand by like that nurse did - I will say something to the doctor". It was the first time I had heard of her desire to become a nurse.

Since that time almost a year and a half ago, TP has continued to want to become a nurse. We have visited several nursing schools, looked into the advantages of getting a Bachelor's of Science in Nursing (a 4 year program where you become an R.N. plus get your bachelor's degree) versus getting just an R.N (a 2 year program). She decided she wants the four year degree, a decision which we totally support. She has worked dilligently to maintain her excellent GPA, in between flare-ups of the lupus and other medical problems related to it. She has worked to save up money to help offset college expenses. Her main goal, through it all, is to help others - she has said repeatedly "I want to give to others what was given to me".

Yesterday, many things happened to TP which symbolized the culmination of her dreams. Yesterday, she took a huge leap toward adulthood.

It started out with a trip to her specialist, who gave her a CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH! He remarked that he had never seen her labs look as "perfect". He was so thrilled with her progress, and so we talked about her future. He was excited to find out that she was thinking about attending the college where he had obtained his Bachelor's degree. He was willing to write whatever letters he could on her behalf, to obtain financial aid due to her diagnosis, and to attest to her courage and determination. We left the doctor's office with a song in our hearts and praise for our Lord, who helped us every step of the way along this long and arduous journey with His strength and comfort.

After that, we went on to the credit union to open up a checking account for TP. I had already discussed with her all the responsibilities associated with an account, and told her about bounced check fees, etc. . . I had to co-sign for it, and she got her first 10 starter checks (and she used one of them later in the day). Then, we went out to lunch, and talked about the upcoming year as a freshman in college. As we were driving to pick up her sister, TP said "Mom, thank you for all that you have done for me - I appreciate it. And, I love having a "Mom and Daughter" day with you!". My eyes welled up with tears, and I reached over and grabbed her hand - I had no words to say at that point because the love I was feeling was so overwhelming.

Later in the day, we received a call that her Senior pictures were in, so we quickly went to pick them up. They are beautiful, and we are going to have a difficult time choosing just one! Almost immediately after we got back home, and another phone call came. It was a personal phone call from the admission counselor at the private university to which she had applied! The counselor asked to speak to TP, and she proceeded to let TP know she had been accepted! And, to top it all off, TP will be eligible for their highest level scholarship due to her excellent academic record. You may remember that TP has a habit of jumping up and down when she gets good news, and sure enough, as soon as she hung up, that habit kicked back in!!! In between the jumps, she was trying to get the news out, and I finally had to admonish her to stop jumping (please!). Oh, the joy on her face was priceless!

So, yesterday, my little girl had many of her prayers answered. So many things came to fruition for her. So much hard work on her part, and the efforts of others on her behalf, came to pass in one beautiful autumn day, when my little girl became a young woman with the promise of her future beckoning in the warm breeze. Watch out world, TP has arrived. . .