Thursday, April 29, 2010

Health

It's Thursday and I'm thankful. This week, every member of my family is healthy. Everyone knows that is truly something to be thankful for, but if you have been where I have been in life, you would know even more so why this means so much to me. As long as my family and I are healthy, I can deal with whatever else happens to come my way (ummm...God, if you are listening, don't take that as a challenge, please).

As many of you know, health has been at the forefront for me over the past week. My little guy had strep, complicated by bacteremia. It was AWFUL. He had an extremely high fever (101-105.8) for 7 days! He had to take 2 different types of antibiotics, get 2 very long, painful shots of antibiotics and have his bloodwork done 3 times over the course of 3 days. That's 5 sticks in 3 days. It was not pleasant. I was terrified and kept thinking back to the time when he was hospitalized for a week when he was 6 months old due to RSV. He doesn't get sick often, but when he does, he really does it right! Maybe he's an overachiever :-).

There was a point last week when I was really afraid he would have to be hospitalized, I reached out to my friends and family and asked for prayers. I can testify that the prayers truly worked because it is at that point that he started to turn the corner. He is now back 100% and you'd never know that he had been sick!

My newborn baby has had some health issues already as well. The poor guy had to have an Upper GI done when he was only 2 1/2 months. He has very bad reflux and is now on Zantac twice a day. The Zantac has really helped though. He eats like a horse now so feeding time isn't as stressful. He has also had an upper respiratory infection already and was on a decongestant for that. All is well now, though. He is one of the happiest babies I have ever seen in my life! He laughs and coo's constantly!

Then there is me. You name it, I've had to deal with it. I even went blind when I was 21 years old from an eye disease that is so rare, the doctor I went to specialized in it and I was the first ACTUAL case he had seen. It's called MEWDS. Heard of it? Yeah, didn't think so. You have a better chance at getting struck by lightening 5 times in a row than getting this disease. So, I was blind, but now I see (thank you, Amazing Grace). It lasted a couple of months and when my sight came back, I was color blind, which lasted a couple of years. I can see colors now, but still have trouble with dark blue, black, red and orange. I also have thyroid disease. I am hypothyroid and it took several years to get a proper diagnosis, which means I went several years without treatment. I think this is why I still have to fight this disease today. Most people can take a pill once a day and they are fine. My thyroid can not be controlled. I have to have blood work done every couple of months and my dosage has to be changed every couple of months as well. Oh, and I'm hypoglycemic. Oh...and I had cancer.

Shall I continue?? Nah, I didn't want to relive my medical history in this post. The point of this post is to give thanks to God for my healthy family today and for seeing us through our illnesses of the past. He has taken care of us through everything and we have all come out just fine. Yes, I still have medical issues to deal with, but I can deal with them well, they don't hold me back or keep me from doing anything. That is a blessing from God.

If you and your family are healthy, take a moment right now to thank God! Don't take a healthy second for granted.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Thankful Thursday - A Successful Business

This Thursday, I am so very thankful that both my business and my husband's are thriving. Even in this economy, hubby's company, Sams Brothers, Inc. (www.samsbrothers.net) has not slowed down and he has, in fact, had to hire on more employees. I am so proud of him and so thankful to the Lord for His blessings.

My company, CWI Marketing & Printing (www.cwimarketing.com), has some big things on the horizon as well. To read more, check out my business blog: http://bit.ly/3pnsXp

I hope everyone is having a great week. Remember Virginia Tech tomorrow, April 16th.

God bless!