My family has had a crazy week that has made me reflect on a few things. Brooklyn started a few days ago acting very lethargic, congested, sleeping more than usual, and eating less. I took her to the doctor where they tested her for RSV, and it came back negative. That night and the next morning, things got worse. Her breathing patterns were very erratic. When I called Wee Care Saturday morning to tell them what was going on with her, they told me to take her to the ER NOW! Mom and I rushed her to the ER where she had some tests done and they cleared out her airways a couple times...which was extra scary, considering what we went through when she was born. We spent the day in the ER and left with an order to get a nasal suction machine to take home so she could breathe, and a promise of test results in 18 hours for things like H1N1, various forms of influenza, rhino virus, and other scary sounding viruses - none of which I want my 3 week old to have. The machine was delivered to the house shortly after we got back. It pretty much sucks all the snot out of her head...which she had plenty of. Since we got the machine and have been using it whenever she sounds mucousy, she seems to be improving! She's eating better, sleeping better, and actually wakes up once in a while! I can't imagine what we would have done 100 years ago and didn't have this amazing technology and modern medicine to rely on. (The test results came back with a positive result for rhinovirus.)
That being said, I am most thankful for the spiritual side of Brooklyn's recovery. My dad gave her a blessing before she went to the hospital, saying that she would heal and be fine. So even though it was so stressful and sad that my brand new baby was so sick, I knew everything would be okay. Dad had said so, so I knew that Heavenly Father had said so. How awesome is it that we have THAT to rely on?! I'm so grateful for a father who has the ability to do that, and for an ever-growing testimony of the power of the Priesthood and it's blessings.
I'm also learning how amazing reading the scriptures can be. Those of us that have grown up in the church have herd the story of Lehi's vison of the Tree of Life over and over again. For me, it had become just a story. A little while ago, Steve and I decided we need to read the Book of Mormon all the way through. When we got to that same story with the iron rod and the big and spacious building, it suddenly wasn't just a story. Something about it had changed. Actually, I think something about me has changed. I realized: It's not just a story. It's how it is. Life. Now, that is my favorite story from the Book of Mormon. How great it is that not only does Heavenly Father not only have a wonderful goal for us to direct ourselves to, but also a path leading there, and an iron rod to hold tight to to help us get there! It also made me realize how much happier I am now that I'm out of the big building and stepping out of the mist.
