Sickness

We have had an unusual amount of illness in our home this winter. It started in early December with Hannah being very ill. She was extremely congested and she had a hard time breathing. I ended up taking her to urgent care and we were grateful I did. They gave her breathing treatments and a shot to help her system regulate. They even took x-rays. The doctors and nurses there were concerned. But after the breathing treatment, her oxygen levels were close to normal. We were glad we took her to the doctor when we did, it would have only gotten worse.

Then early in January, we all had head colds. Everyone caught it; no one was spared. It wasn’t too bad. In fact David and I had several conversations about how it could be worse. We decided that the worst illness to experience would be the stomach flu or something to that effect; constant nausea, vomiting, diarrhea… that would be far worse than a head cold or a little congestion.

It was as if our conversation was prophetic. The night of Evelyn’s birthday, after a joyous, fun-filled day, David, Kate, and I were all chatting while the kids were all asleep. Then Hannah wakes up crying which is abnormal for her. We wait a minute or two then I go in to check on her. She had vomited all over her bed. Poor baby! We thought she had just eaten too much, because she had! She had a large dinner and birthday cake. We got her cleaned up and back in bed only to have her throw-up again within an hour. We realized then that this was the start of our most dreaded illness… we were up almost all night with her. Her poor body would wrench up every two to four minutes to dry heave; dry, because the contents of her stomach had already been spewed. It was heartbreaking! We both cried. It is one thing for me to experience the pain of the stomach flu and another thing entirely to watch my little baby suffer. A priesthood blessing was given, along with many fervent prayers. I think we all were able to feel the comforting power of the Spirit with us.

Her body eventually slowed and she was allowed to rest a while. It took her three days to recover though. And on that third day, it was mommy’s turn. It didn’t hit me as hard as it hit our poor baby Hannah, but it was still no fun. Then David and Peter were ill. At least they waited till I was feeling almost normal so I could care for them and the girls. Thankfully, their case wasn’t as severe as Hannah’s either. The biggest blessing though is that Evelyn was spared! She didn’t get sick!

As if that was not enough… today, Hannah and Peter are sick again with fever, congestion, and coughs! Oy… We went almost a whole year with no illness and now we seem to be making up for it.

However, through all this illness, we have felt the comforting power of the Spirit. We have felt our Father’s love for us. It is amazing how hard times are made easier when we rely upon and put our trust in our Father and the atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ.