When my oldest daughter Amanda was five years old, she had just started kindergarten and was really excited about it. About a month after school started, she got sick. She started running a fever and then complained that her stomach hurt. Then she started vomiting.

Amanda’s symptoms seemed like she might have a 24-hour virus. I gave her medicine for the fever and kept her home from school so I could watch and take care of her.

I was scheduled for an ultrasound at the hospital at this time because I was five months pregnant with my third child. My husband Paul and I took Amanda and our 2 1/2-year-old son Kevin with us to the hospital, as Amanda seemed well enough to go and we were all excited about finding out whether we were going to have a girl or a boy. Well, we found out that we were having a girl that day.

I also had blood work done and a sugar test, which seemed to take forever. That’s when Amanda started throwing up again.

By the next day it was clear she had something worse than a virus, so I took her to the hospital – twice. One of the doctors prescribed medicine for the stomach ache, but Amanda kept getting sicker and sicker. By the fourth day, she no longer could walk normally and couldn't keep anything down.

On the fourth day she was in my room, lying on the bed. I leaned over her and wondered what was to become of my very ill daughter.

I talked to God that night I told Him I would accept His will for her, whatever that was. If He needed to take her to heaven now, I would accept it and not blame Him for it. I told Him I was placing her into His hands.

Well, God found me a good doctor to take her to the next day. That doctor referred us to another good doctor who ran some tests on Amanda and found the problem was her appendix. She was admitted into the hospital that day and was on the surgery table within an hour. We found out afterward that if we had waited any longer, she would not be alive because her appendix had ruptured four days prior. Gangrene was already setting in.

That was six years ago. My daughter has a big scar on her belly where it took 10 stitches to repair what was left of her appendix.

She is a blessing to me every day. God spared her for a reason and only He knows why. She loves to write songs about Him and, as her proud and thankful mother, I will tell you that they are wonderful! She praises God through her songs. I praise Him every time I see my little girl.

Anna B.

Boaz, AL