The Bad Thing: On Monday night, after 10:30, Roger woke up screaming. I could tell he was warm, so I gave him some medicine, which he promptly threw up. I stuck him in the bathroom and stripped off his soiled clothes, and he continued to heave and shake. It was very heart-wrenching for me to see him that way, but I remained somewhat calm. After he stopped, and I wiped him clean, I laid him down and tried to comfort him. He kept saying, "Mommy, I hurt; Mommy, I owie!" I gave him half a dose again, which he kept down, and checked his temperature: 101.1 degrees. Twenty minutes later I checked it again: 102.1. Ten minutes later the fever spiked to 102.7. I told Sam that I was going to take him to the ER because his fever was rising rapidly. Thank heaven for friends (you know who you are!) who took Stuart and Brooke in, so both of us could be at the hospital. When I arrived at the hospital, his temperature was 103.7. They gave him some more medicine and X-rayed his chest to rule out pneumonia. His lungs were clear. They sent us home and told us to follow up with pediatrics the next day. The next day an appointment was set for 2:00, and I canceled all the other activities we had planned for that day. Tuesday is PE/Swimming at the YMCA for Stuart and Brooke.
The Worse Thing (or what could have been worse): Before I went to my appointment, I decided to leave my two older kids with a friend so that I could attend to Roger, which proved to be one of many blessings. Every time I moved him, he would cry out "I hurt, mommy." His fever was still there, but not so high, maybe around 100 degrees. After I dropped the two older kids off, I debated whether or not I should drop off a bag of things to a friend. At the last minute, I decided I had enough time to swing by and drop it off. I turned left down Bob's Hollow, and suddenly my car seized up, and I quickly drifted to the side of the road. I knew immediately that my timing belt was broken. This has happened to me before. I came to a stop at the corner of Garry Oaks, and couldn't believe my luck (or blessings!): my car had parked in the perfect place, and came to a stop where there was enough room for a tow truck to hook it up and haul it to the shop. The first call I made, though, was to Sam. He said, "You know what? My 1:30 appointment was a no-show; I'll come and pick you up and take you and Roger to his appointment." We arrived to our appointment on time, and when the checked Roger, there was no temperature--nothing. He was totally fine. The doctor said he would probably spike a fever again and have diarrhea (some virus going around), but he has been totally fine since. I had my car towed to Firestone on base, and still had time to drop of the bag of stuff to my friend's house, and return some library books.
As I reflected on what was happening to me, I realized that because Roger was sick, I canceled the activities at the YMCA, and because I didn't go to the Y that day, I was spared from a terrible accident that could have happened on the freeway. Everything seemed so calculated. The next day Firestone told me it would be about $7500 to fix my timing belt (because the engine needed to be replaced). I was surprised by this, but (still feeling calm) I decided to get a 2nd opinion. So I called the Honda dealer, and they were surprised by the quote as well. They convinced me to have the car towed there, and they would look it over. Since Honda was good to us in the past, I decided to heed their advice. I called a tow truck, and was told they might not be able to pick it up for at least two hours. Well, a few minutes later they called and said that two people had canceled, and they were sending a tow truck over immediately. The guys at Honda looked over the situation, and told me that the engine didn't need to be replaced, and all the valves looked good. The mechanic said that the valves were good because I was going under 25 mph. He gave me a much better quote, and they promptly fixed my car. I also had them replace our windshield, fix the radio (it had a short), and a few other minor things that we were putting off, and the car is as good as new. And the good thing is, it didn't cost $7500.
I have been so full of gratitude to God these past few days, because I know that He loves me and is aware of me. Throughout this whole experience I felt the Comforter, and knew that everything would be alright. I am so grateful for angels (both seen and unseen) who were there to help me, and even those who would have helped, had they known help was needed.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Bad Things Happen so Worse Things Won't
I learned from a dear friend that sometimes bad things happen so that worse things won't. Well, this week I learned that this is true.
The Bad Thing: On Monday night, after 10:30, Roger woke up screaming. I could tell he was warm, so I gave him some medicine, which he promptly threw up. I stuck him in the bathroom and stripped off his soiled clothes, and he continued to heave and shake. It was very heart-wrenching for me to see him that way, but I remained somewhat calm. After he stopped, and I wiped him clean, I laid him down and tried to comfort him. He kept saying, "Mommy, I hurt; Mommy, I owie!" I gave him half a dose again, which he kept down, and checked his temperature: 101.1 degrees. Twenty minutes later I checked it again: 102.1. Ten minutes later the fever spiked to 102.7. I told Sam that I was going to take him to the ER because his fever was rising rapidly. Thank heaven for friends (you know who you are!) who took Stuart and Brooke in, so both of us could be at the hospital. When I arrived at the hospital, his temperature was 103.7. They gave him some more medicine and X-rayed his chest to rule out pneumonia. His lungs were clear. They sent us home and told us to follow up with pediatrics the next day. The next day an appointment was set for 2:00, and I canceled all the other activities we had planned for that day. Tuesday is PE/Swimming at the YMCA for Stuart and Brooke.
The Worse Thing (or what could have been worse): Before I went to my appointment, I decided to leave my two older kids with a friend so that I could attend to Roger, which proved to be one of many blessings. Every time I moved him, he would cry out "I hurt, mommy." His fever was still there, but not so high, maybe around 100 degrees. After I dropped the two older kids off, I debated whether or not I should drop off a bag of things to a friend. At the last minute, I decided I had enough time to swing by and drop it off. I turned left down Bob's Hollow, and suddenly my car seized up, and I quickly drifted to the side of the road. I knew immediately that my timing belt was broken. This has happened to me before. I came to a stop at the corner of Garry Oaks, and couldn't believe my luck (or blessings!): my car had parked in the perfect place, and came to a stop where there was enough room for a tow truck to hook it up and haul it to the shop. The first call I made, though, was to Sam. He said, "You know what? My 1:30 appointment was a no-show; I'll come and pick you up and take you and Roger to his appointment." We arrived to our appointment on time, and when the checked Roger, there was no temperature--nothing. He was totally fine. The doctor said he would probably spike a fever again and have diarrhea (some virus going around), but he has been totally fine since. I had my car towed to Firestone on base, and still had time to drop of the bag of stuff to my friend's house, and return some library books.
As I reflected on what was happening to me, I realized that because Roger was sick, I canceled the activities at the YMCA, and because I didn't go to the Y that day, I was spared from a terrible accident that could have happened on the freeway. Everything seemed so calculated. The next day Firestone told me it would be about $7500 to fix my timing belt (because the engine needed to be replaced). I was surprised by this, but (still feeling calm) I decided to get a 2nd opinion. So I called the Honda dealer, and they were surprised by the quote as well. They convinced me to have the car towed there, and they would look it over. Since Honda was good to us in the past, I decided to heed their advice. I called a tow truck, and was told they might not be able to pick it up for at least two hours. Well, a few minutes later they called and said that two people had canceled, and they were sending a tow truck over immediately. The guys at Honda looked over the situation, and told me that the engine didn't need to be replaced, and all the valves looked good. The mechanic said that the valves were good because I was going under 25 mph. He gave me a much better quote, and they promptly fixed my car. I also had them replace our windshield, fix the radio (it had a short), and a few other minor things that we were putting off, and the car is as good as new. And the good thing is, it didn't cost $7500.
I have been so full of gratitude to God these past few days, because I know that He loves me and is aware of me. Throughout this whole experience I felt the Comforter, and knew that everything would be alright. I am so grateful for angels (both seen and unseen) who were there to help me, and even those who would have helped, had they known help was needed.
The Bad Thing: On Monday night, after 10:30, Roger woke up screaming. I could tell he was warm, so I gave him some medicine, which he promptly threw up. I stuck him in the bathroom and stripped off his soiled clothes, and he continued to heave and shake. It was very heart-wrenching for me to see him that way, but I remained somewhat calm. After he stopped, and I wiped him clean, I laid him down and tried to comfort him. He kept saying, "Mommy, I hurt; Mommy, I owie!" I gave him half a dose again, which he kept down, and checked his temperature: 101.1 degrees. Twenty minutes later I checked it again: 102.1. Ten minutes later the fever spiked to 102.7. I told Sam that I was going to take him to the ER because his fever was rising rapidly. Thank heaven for friends (you know who you are!) who took Stuart and Brooke in, so both of us could be at the hospital. When I arrived at the hospital, his temperature was 103.7. They gave him some more medicine and X-rayed his chest to rule out pneumonia. His lungs were clear. They sent us home and told us to follow up with pediatrics the next day. The next day an appointment was set for 2:00, and I canceled all the other activities we had planned for that day. Tuesday is PE/Swimming at the YMCA for Stuart and Brooke.
The Worse Thing (or what could have been worse): Before I went to my appointment, I decided to leave my two older kids with a friend so that I could attend to Roger, which proved to be one of many blessings. Every time I moved him, he would cry out "I hurt, mommy." His fever was still there, but not so high, maybe around 100 degrees. After I dropped the two older kids off, I debated whether or not I should drop off a bag of things to a friend. At the last minute, I decided I had enough time to swing by and drop it off. I turned left down Bob's Hollow, and suddenly my car seized up, and I quickly drifted to the side of the road. I knew immediately that my timing belt was broken. This has happened to me before. I came to a stop at the corner of Garry Oaks, and couldn't believe my luck (or blessings!): my car had parked in the perfect place, and came to a stop where there was enough room for a tow truck to hook it up and haul it to the shop. The first call I made, though, was to Sam. He said, "You know what? My 1:30 appointment was a no-show; I'll come and pick you up and take you and Roger to his appointment." We arrived to our appointment on time, and when the checked Roger, there was no temperature--nothing. He was totally fine. The doctor said he would probably spike a fever again and have diarrhea (some virus going around), but he has been totally fine since. I had my car towed to Firestone on base, and still had time to drop of the bag of stuff to my friend's house, and return some library books.
As I reflected on what was happening to me, I realized that because Roger was sick, I canceled the activities at the YMCA, and because I didn't go to the Y that day, I was spared from a terrible accident that could have happened on the freeway. Everything seemed so calculated. The next day Firestone told me it would be about $7500 to fix my timing belt (because the engine needed to be replaced). I was surprised by this, but (still feeling calm) I decided to get a 2nd opinion. So I called the Honda dealer, and they were surprised by the quote as well. They convinced me to have the car towed there, and they would look it over. Since Honda was good to us in the past, I decided to heed their advice. I called a tow truck, and was told they might not be able to pick it up for at least two hours. Well, a few minutes later they called and said that two people had canceled, and they were sending a tow truck over immediately. The guys at Honda looked over the situation, and told me that the engine didn't need to be replaced, and all the valves looked good. The mechanic said that the valves were good because I was going under 25 mph. He gave me a much better quote, and they promptly fixed my car. I also had them replace our windshield, fix the radio (it had a short), and a few other minor things that we were putting off, and the car is as good as new. And the good thing is, it didn't cost $7500.
I have been so full of gratitude to God these past few days, because I know that He loves me and is aware of me. Throughout this whole experience I felt the Comforter, and knew that everything would be alright. I am so grateful for angels (both seen and unseen) who were there to help me, and even those who would have helped, had they known help was needed.
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7 comments:
Wow. I love how you recognize the hand of the Lord in so many what-could-have-been scenarios. Thanks for sharing. We never know why things happen the way they do, but there is a reason.
I love you so much! Thank you for your sterling example of faith and gratitude.
The bag of stuff was perfect and I can go ahead now with the project I was planning. Thank you for blessing me in that and in so many other ways!
Thank you for sharing, Dana! Loved this post and your hard drive post, too. Motivates me to be grateful and look for the miracles happening all around me.
Ditto to the other great comments - I love how the Lord orchestrates our lives better than we realize until we look back on it! I just had my timing belt replaced yesterday - earlier than called for, but it would've been due around the same time the baby is due..... no worries now :)
p.s. you've been tagged! See my blog to see what to do :)
That must have been an awful day, but when you look at it from a different perspective, I think you are right to count your blessings. What a testimony to the little miracles in our lives and the fact that Heavenly Father does answer our prayers, but sometimes in ways we don't expect.
It wasn't really a bad day, per se, but just a lot of "bad" things happened. I was actually in a good mood. I was feeling the Comforter the whole day! How can you feel "bad" when you know someone is watching over you and keeping you safe?
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