Thank you all so much for your emails and comments. Tori wasn't doing so well, in fact she was getting worse. The pain in her neck was spreading to her ears and jaw such that she couldn't open her mouth very much at all and she couldn't sleep. The pain meds weren't helping much and she was miserable. I called her doc and she was seen this afternoon. They recommended we go back to the ER for a CT Scan. (Oh gawd, not another ER visit!) After waiting over two hours before even being interviewed in triage, I got a little (ok, a LOT) testy with the front desk. Shortly after my tirade, they called us back. She tried to stand up, but fell back in her seat as her legs would not support her. I went looking for a wheelchair, but the ER was so crowded all the wheelchairs were in use. I did my best to carry her, but she is as big as a small adult and I had to hobble her to the exam room. Where's a strapping orderly when you need one? There it was as if the Wheel spun round again, this time upwards as the attending physician, I swear he had a halo and wings, took control of the situation and instead of sending us back to the fourth level of hell (the ER waiting room) he made an executive decision to just admit her to the hospital. He said, "The hell with it, she can't even walk, she's in so much pain, she needs a CT, we'll keep her overnight." Instantly, she was given relief from her pain, steroids, a strep culture, a very competant and funny pediatrician, and a bed where she could sleep.

I had thrown a few cards right after calling her doctor's this afternoon. The Queen of Swords and the Eight of Wands. I thought the Queen of Swords might be her doctor, but it often represents myself in a reading. As it turned out, the Queen of Swords WAS me, getting loud and pointed at the ER, which then prompted the Eight of Wands -- fast action and resolution. Or the Queen of Swords was that ER doc, a compassionate man (see, Queens aren't always women) with just the right decision and word of authority that got things moving. Either way, the cards were right and when I saw the Eight of Wands I knew something would happen, a lot of things most likely, when I took her into the doc's today.

So, the CT revealed that she has an abscess deep in her neck tissue causing all that pain and obstructing her breathing. It requires IV antibiotic treatment and possibly a more invasive procedure if those don't work well enough. She may need to be transported to a larger hospital in another town for that. In any case, she's going to be at the hospital for a few days, as will I. So if you don't hear from me, you know where I am. I'm riding this particular Wheel, trying to stay in that center, and right now feeling very thankful for divine Providence in many ways.