“Your daughter collapsed in the foyer and can’t get up,” a man whispered to Adam near the end of the church service.

We were in the capital city to do errands and had planned to go back to our village on Friday, but when Amber’s lower right abdomen started hurting on Thursday afternoon, we decided to stay for the weekend. My brother almost died from a ruptured appendix, so I’ve always been cautious about stomach pain in our kids.

On Friday when we took Amber to a clinic some doctor friends had recommended, the doctor told us she had gastritis, so we gave her some tummy settling treatments. By evening on Friday she seemed to be doing better, and on Sabbath morning she got up, saying her stomach didn’t hurt much at all. So when the man came into the church service to get us, we were surprised. We hurried back to her.

“Amber what happened? Where does it hurt?” Adam asked, kneeling beside her, acting calmer than I felt.

“My back and my side,” she gasped, pointing to her upper right side.

As I looked at her pale lips, my mind raced. What is going on? I wondered. This is not just gastritis! But the pain is not in the right place to be appendicitis. Lord, please be with Amber and give us wisdom, I silently prayed.

Adam carried her to the truck and carefully laid her down in the back seat. Many church members followed us out, wanting to help but not knowing what to do. Thankful for our two student missionaries, we sent Brielle with our other three kids back to where we were staying and took Sokha with us, as she’d had some nursing classes. I continued to try to find out more about Amber’s pain while Sokha called her professor, a surgeon, who recommended some specific tests.

When we arrived at the clinic, Adam carried Amber in and laid her on the examining table. The same doctor who had checked Amber the day before started examining her again. He was puzzled by her symptoms and the location of the pain. After ordering the blood test and ultrasound we requested, he recommended we go to a large hospital not too far away to be seen by a surgeon there. He told us the hospital was expensive, but they had all the equipment needed to diagnose her. Even though the ultrasound had indicated that she might have appendicitis, he was still uncertain because Amber’s pain was not in the normal location for appendicitis, and she did not have the same rebound pain that normally accompanies it.

When we arrived at the hospital, an orderly met us at the truck with a wheelchair, and I took Amber in while Adam parked. Entering the hospital was like walking into one of the nice hospitals in Thailand. I hadn’t realized there was such a clean and modern hospital in our country. In the emergency room the surgeon checked Amber and did a CT scan to confirm the growing suspicion of acute appendicitis. Sure enough, her appendix was inflamed. The scan showed that the confusion over Amber’s diagnosis was because her appendix was in her upper-right abdomen instead of the usual lower-right quadrant.

The doctor recommended immediate surgery, and it didn’t take long for the hospital staff to get her ready. I felt nervous as we walked next to her transport bed up to the surgery department. Amber seemed relieved to know what was causing her intense pain, but she looked a bit anxious at the thought of surgery. We had prayed together several times throughout the afternoon, especially before her CT scan when her pain was particularly intense, and now she looked up at us again and asked to pray. I’m not sure what the doctors thought as we bowed our heads, putting a temporary pause on the surgery preparations, but I was glad that our little girl recognized the need of putting herself in the hands of the Great Physician.

Adam and I went to Amber’s recovery room to wait for her, contacting friends and family while we waited. About three hours later, the nurses brought her in. The surgery was successful, and she was able to leave the hospital less than three days later. Now, about a month after the surgery, she has recuperated nicely.

Thinking back, I can see that God kept His promise to be with us always. Being in the capital city at the time of Amber’s appendicitis proved to be a huge blessing. If we had needed to drive in to town from our village, the bumpy roads would have caused her excruciating pain. God also provided the childcare we needed by prompting us to bring our SMs, who don’t always go to town with us. Our insurance company was extremely helpful and encouraged us to make sure Amber was getting all the care she needed. It was also a blessing that the ADRA guest room we were staying in was available for the extra week we needed for Amber’s recovery.

Though it was not a fun experience, we saw God’s care for us in many ways. We are so happy to serve such a loving God!

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