17 or 50?

The recommended age for a colonoscopy is 50.  Unfortunately because of some health issues Jessi had to have one today at 17.  What a trooper she has been.  She had a much better attitude about hers at 17 than I did at 50.  She also had an endoscopy along with it.  For those who are unfamiliar with the prep for the colonoscopy, it is much worse than the actual procedure.  Two nights before you have it you stop eating at 7 p.m.  The next day you can have only clear liquids.  Then at 5:00 pm, after taking four ducolax, you start drinking some powerful liquid that enhances the cleanse.  There is a lot to drink and it is not great tasting.   You are supposed to drink it all in an hour and then 10 hours laters repeat it all over again.  The result is a totally cleaned out colon so that they can scope it with no mess or obstructions.  If you do not complete the cleanse they cancel the procedure.  We have had such a difficult time to get this procedure ordered because pediatric GI specialists didn't want to see her because she was too old and adult GI specialists didn't want to see her until she was 18.  Jessi has been so sick and has lost so much weight it was imperative to get this done.  Finally our wonderful friend who is a Doctor pulled some special favors and got us into a specialist.  So now on to the moral of my story.  Last night as Jessi started the cleanse with the drink, she would violently vomit as soon as she would drink the fluid.  This happened time and time again.  I started to panic knowing how desperately we needed this done.  I finally called the GI on call doctor and he told me about another medicine they could use that maybe she could tolerate, but then he added there really is only a 10%-15% chance that the pharmacy would carry it.  He called them and called me right back to inform me that amazingly they had it in stock.  At 8:55 p.m. I ran to the pharmacy before they closed at 9:00 p.m. to pick it up.  I mixed it up and Jessi took one tiny sip and began to throw up.  By now I'm in a frenzy, Jeff isn't home, both the doctor and the pharmacist told me that time was running out to get her cleared out and they would probably have to cancel the procedure.  I began to pray fervently that somehow she could tolerate the fluids so that she could get cleansed so she could have the procedure.  I felt that we could deal with whatever they found, we just needed some answers so she needed this done.  By 10 p.m. there was no improvement, I knew we needed Divine Intervention.  Jeff was involved with His Bishopric but I called him anyway and told him I needed help.  He said to give him a minute and when he called me back he told me that our Bishop and our next door neighbor would be over shortly to give her a blessing.  So about 10:30 p.m, dressed in suits and white shirts with smiles on their faces, they knocked on our door so willing to help.  Our Bishop is a wonderful man and because he used to be a seminary teacher, he speaks in a very simple straight forward manner.  He simply blessed Jessi that she would be able to tolerate the medicine and that she would be able to have the procedure done.  It was short, precise and exactly to the point.  When he left I had no doubt that it would all work out.  Jessi began to sip very small amounts, she would run to the bathroom but was always able to keep it down.  By about 11:30 p.m. she had maybe drank 1/4 of the potion, but I had the thought so clearly;  "It is enough"  I told her to go to bed and we would start again in the morning.  She was supposed to start again at 5:00 a.m. but that was if she drank it the night before at 6:00 p.m.  I debated on what to do and again the thought came clearly that she didn't need to start that early, let her stomach rest.  I mentioned to her that we would start drinking the second half of the medicine at 6:30 a.m.  It would be OK.  Of course in the middle of the night I started questioning what I was doing.  Had she had enough to clean her out?   Would there be time enough in the morning to finish the job?  She slept without getting up very often so then I was afraid she was dehydrated and was in trouble.  I tossed and turned all night.  Finally at 5 a.m. I got up to tell her maybe we needed to start drinking and I observed how peacefully she was sleeping and I had the thought again that everything was going to be alright.  Have faith in what I had felt and heard.  I went back to bed until 6:30 a.m. when Jessi woke up, feeling so much better she started drinking the liquid.  It stayed down, she was doing great until she came in to tell me that she had knocked the pitcher over and spilled the rest of the drink.  Once again, I had the thought;  "It is enough".  This time she maybe had 1/2 of the medicine.  I knew she had been promised the night before by a servant of the Lord that she would be able to have the procedure.  We went to the hospital and she did great.  They kept asking if she had completed the regimen.  I told them no but she was OK.  It would be fine.  They were able to complete the scopes successfully.  She was totally cleaned out.  They found a couple of problems.  She has gastritis in the stomach.  They are waiting for the results of the biopsy in her colon to pronounce a diagnosis.  Hopefully she can get some relief of her symptoms with the prescriptions that they have given her.  How grateful I am today for the Priesthood in our lives.  There is no reason she should of been able to have this procedure done today with the preparation that did not occur.  Miracles still happen!!

This is Jessi in August 2011 on the first day of school.  Notice how healthy she looks.

This is Jessi today in the hospital.  Notice how thin she looks.  She has lost 12 lbs. in the last couple of months.  Still smiling but obviously not top of her game.  Hopefully she will soon return to that healthy appearance.