Hey folks!  Thanks for the thoughts.  She is my granddaughter btw :)  Yea, I am an active grandparent, very involved in their lives.

Anyway, she is all better now!  Her hospital stays were in Feb and early March and was back to school late March.

It started out with her having a tummy ache (not pain just upset tummy), a bit of congestion and a fever.  The symtoms made us think she had a bit of flu as one of her sisters had just gotten over one a week before Serena's.  She got better by a Friday and was back up and around, no fever just a little tired, typical for a flu.

So, I let her compete in a local rock climbing competition  on Saturday along with 2 of her sisters (all 3 placed in the top 30 of >200 of all ages).  It was clear she wasn't well yet,  She usually was a much better climber than she was on that Saturday and usually easily beats her older (she was 6 at this time) 10yr old sister and gives her 12yr old sister a hell if a run for her money.  She placed well below them, I thought it was still fatigue from being down with a flu.

This is her on Saturday (btw, she beat the guy in blue):

 

On Sunday, her temp returned and had climbed to 104.  A that point it was clear something was wrong.  We hauled her to Children's Hospital.  They did an ultrasound on her tummy and they admitted her immediately.  She had a badly infected perforated appendix.  She never complained of any tummy pain, even in the hospital she said it didn't hurt.

This is her one day later on Sunday

They took her to surgery and put in a drain tube and she spent 5 days in the hospital.  Then they sent her home with antibiotics to take for 2 weeks.  Seven times a day she had to choke down God awful tasting medicine.  We mixed it with yogurt, milk, fruit juice and I even mixed it with jelly and put it on peanunt butter sandwiches.  Nothing hid it.

Then she had to go in and actually have the surgery to remove the appendix after the infection was under control.  That is when I took the photo I posted in the contest.  She was back in the hospital for the 2nd time and knew she was going in for surgery, and possibly more icky medicine.

So, thats the history behind the photo and the emotion she was expressing.

She is much better now.  Completely healed up.  I (and her) was worried that her belly button was going to go from an "innie" to an "outie" and be hard and poofy because of the surgery (an incision was made inside it) but its back to its cute self and doesn't bother her any more.

This is her this past mother's day.  As you can see, all better: