The Magic Poop Machine

I've wanted to write this post ever since I started my blog but I've never had the guts to do it. One thing I love to do is look to the past, usually back one year, and say to myself "one year ago I was doing this or that and now look where I am." The past couple weeks I've been looking back to one year ago at this time when Jason and I were in Cincinnati for 17 days while Jack and Lily had colorectal surgery at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. This isn't a pleasant memory but it is a MAJOR event in our lives and it leads me to this post.

I've mentioned before that Lily and Jack were both born with a medical condition called imperforate anus. Simply explained, in-utero the anus isn't fully formed and there is no opening. Both kids had a colostomy at birth and then later had surgery in China to correct the condition. After we adopted Jack it was determined that both kids needed an additional surgery by a specialist in Cincinnati.

After Jack had his surgery we discovered that the surgery in China was a "surgical catastrophe" according to our surgeon. He suffered irreparable damage to his rectum making it so he would never have normal bowel movements. When I found this out I was devastated both for Jack and for myself. But thanks to an AMAZING medical team in Cincinnati Jack is able to live a normal life thanks to a device we refer to as the Magic Poop Machine.

In June we went back to Cincinnati where we learned all about the magic poop machine (as our family calls it). Every morning Jack needs an enema which completely cleans him out for 24 hours. He has to eat a somewhat restricted diet because certain foods cause his colon to move resulting in unwanted bowel movements. He has handled this so well. It is an unpleasant experience to give a 3 year old a daily enema but it has turned into a blessing in an unexpected way for our family. In December I was going through a really hard time with Jack as he was giving up his naps and very cranky as a result. This made our daily magic poop machine all the more a trying experience for me. I decided to start reading the Book of Mormon and relating every scripture to dealing with my frustrations. I would read out loud to Jack while he was laying on my bed having his enema. Very quickly my heart was softened and I began to see the blessings of this trial. I realized that Jack, who is extremely active, would actually lay there and listen while I read the Book of Mormon to him. I realized that the 10 minutes of our morning was the perfect time for our family to do Scripture Power. We have sturggled so much with scripture study but our weaknesses have truly been made our strengths as we take advantage of this time each morning when Jack must be still and quiet to study the scriptures as a family. We are now blazing through the Book of Mormon and Jack loves to hear stories of Nephi.

A year ago at this time I wept in sorrow for our family. Now I weep tears of JOY that we have been deeply blessed in a way that may have never happened without this trial. I am humbled.