52 weeks-week 4

What I am most grateful for this week is the health of my family! These past few days we have had quite a scare with Mudge. Beginning last Thursday, she woke up in the middle of the night with a fever and throwing up. Paul gave her a blessing, but the fever never went away, and each day, she got more and more listless and wouldn't eat anything. The happy, fun baby we all know and love was just not herself. By yesterday evening, Paul and I were so worried that we took her to Urgent Care. This began one of the worst nights of our lives. The Dr. checked her for ear infection, strep, x-rays, tried pricking her heel, that didn't succeed, so then they had to draw blood. By this time, the poor thing was beyond traumatized and I was starting to lose it. I felt so bad, because I made Paul hold her down while they drew the blood while I stood in the corner and sobbed. She cried so hard she puked all over Paul. Nothing is harder than watching your child be so upset and as a parent be absolutely helpless. Paul said it was the hardest thing he has ever done in 31 years. After we got the blood tests back, the Dr. said she had the highest count of white blood cells he had ever seen. That immediately raised a red flag to everyone. He said it was leaning towards a bacterial infection, but he couldn't be sure. He then gave her 2 shots in her legs of antibiotic. He told us if we weren't able to get a urine sample overnight or if she wasn't showing signs of improvement tomorrow, to go see her regular pediatrician. After 3 hours of torture, we were sent home to see if overnight we could get a urine sample from Mudge. They sent home these adhesive urine bags that you are supposed to stick to their little bum. Well, they don't work. I cannot begin to describe the night we had last night. Let's just say, I have never cried that much or prayed harder. Paul had the Elder's Quorum president come over and assist in giving Mudge another blessing. Paul later gave me a blessing to help calm and comfort me. I told Paul, and I mean it with every ounce of my soul, that if we lost everything in this world, if I had him and our girls were healthy and happy, then I wouldn't need anything else. I could only imagine the worst of the worst last night. All I could think about are the families who have lost children from diseases or random illnesses that began and took the life of their child all within days. I also know of another family who has 3 out of their 5 children with a rare and deadly disease. So, this morning, we decided to take her to her pediatrician. He checked her over, looked at the results of the battery of tests she went through and basically laid it on the table for us. He said it could be a bacterial infection, it could be an infection of the blood, an infection in her bones or joints or leukemia. I felt like throwing up. He said to eliminate one thing right away, he wanted to get a urine sample by catheter and see if it was a urinary tract infection. I actually left the room during this. I couldn't watch her so upset again. I am such a baby. I am so thankful that Paul has been there through all of this. I don't think I would have survived. After that, he called in a prescription to the pharmacy and told us, no matter what, to have her complete 7 days of antibiotic, and if she doesn't get better then we need to do another round of blood tests. As if this wasn't all bad enough, when we got home, we had to give her an enema because she has been really constipated. So today, we continued to pray and wait by the phone to hear the results of the urine sample. By 4:30, I couldn't stand it anymore, so I called the Dr. to find out. The nurse told me that all the tests indicate it was a urinary tract infection. I had to ask her again, because I needed to see if I heard it right. After I got off the phone, all I could do was fall to my knees sobbing and thanking the Lord. A urinary tract infection never sounded so good. I immediately called Paul and while still crying, told him the news. He came home right after that and just hugged me on the couch while I cried. As Paul put it, "it feels like the weight of an entire house has been lifted off my shoulders." I can't thank the Lord enough for hearing and answering our prayers. I am so grateful for the power of the priesthood and the knowledge and comfort of the gospel. Paul and I are going to continue to fast and pray until she is completely recovered. So this week and for the rest of my life, I am beyond grateful for the health of my family. As I have contemplated all of this, it has made me realize I need to shift my focus and re prioritize. I think this was a wake up call from God to help me realize everything I need to change. I need to focus on the eternal perspective. Family is absolutely everything and if I don't soak in every moment I have with my them, it could all be taken from me just like that. I need to live the gospel principles more completely so that I can make sure I will be with my family for eternity. I also need to realize all the blessings I have in my life. I admittedly get down with the stresses of life, but after these last few days, I realize that all of that doesn't even matter. I have the most important thing, which is my family, and the rest I could honestly do without.