I am so grateful this Thanksgiving Day. A few years ago we were getting ready to drive to Utah and have Thanksgiving with my in-laws for the first time ever. We were very excited, but so many things were going wrong. I began to dread it a bit because a pass was going to be closed due to avalanches and we would have to go the longer way, as if 16+ hours wasn’t long enough already.
A couple days before Thanksgiving, our son became violently ill. The poor guy couldn’t stop throwing-up no matter what we did for him and he couldn’t even keep a tablespoon of liquid down. He had broken blood vessels all over his face from vomiting and as I took his temperature again, it was at 104 and still climbing. I didn’t even wait for the thermometer to finish registering before I gathered everything I needed to rush him to the ER.
The doctor there determined he was dehydrated and in a viscious cycle. He was dehydrated because he was throwing-up and he was throwing-up because he was dehydrated. After an IV bag, my son returned to his almost normal self and asked, “Can we go home yet?”
Sadly, we canceled our trip to Utah because we didn’t want to end up in Idaho with other violently ill children. It was a smart move because at 5am on Thanksgiving morning, I became very sick. I was miserable and disappointed because we wouldn’t even be able to do a back-up Thanksgiving with my family.
But with that day came a sweet experience. My husband called our home teacher to come give me a priesthood blessing and as he performed the first part of the blessing, he pronounced my full name and said, “I, your brother, seal this anointing upon your head.”
I felt bad about interrupting his family’s Thanksgiving to ask for help, but it was like he knew what I needed to hear when he referred to himself as my brother. It was a great reminder that we are all brothers and sisters on this earth because we are children of God.
After the blessing, I stopped vomiting and was able to rest. My family brought us leftovers from their Thanksgiving dinner and at least my husband and children were able to enjoy it. It was a very hard day and not a Thanksgiving I care to repeat, but today I feel so grateful to wake up feeling well and to four happy, healthy children.
I am so blessed to have this day to spend with my family. You never know what life will bring.
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