We Are Grateful

A couple of months ago, when my son started to show an interest in eating again, we made it a point to sit at the table and have our dinner together. We start our meal with the same ritual, a brief prayer: "Dear God, we are grateful. Amen." Every so often, in the rush of getting the kids settled, appeasing my younger daughter who is frantic from hunger, we inadvertently take a bite or two. Max immediately stops us by shouting "We are grateful....we are grateful...." It's his way of letting us know that we need to say grace.

And so we stop...we hold hands...and we say our prayer of gratitude. And, in so doing, we are reminded of just how fortunate we are.

We were in the ER this past weekend...actually, two ERs. The first ER trip was due to our concern that Max's feeding tube might be harboring some type of infection because he was experiencing fevers and the tube site was oozing. X-rays showed that all was well with the feeding tube; but he might have a possible pneumonia. We were discharged on amoxicillin and told to follow up with our pediatrician. On Sunday, Max's fevers continued and while we were treating with Motrin and Tylenol, we decided to take him to the ER when it peaked at 105.3! This time, we went to the ER where my kids were born. The ER docs, therefore, have my son's complete medical history at their immediate disposal. After assessing him, the ER doc concluded that he was probably fighting some type of viral infection and we could continue to treat him at home. So, we came home feeling relieved that there was nothing more to be done than to wait it out and allow his body to fight this bug.

The fevers have disappeared and he's doing much better. But the reason for mentioning this adventure at all is the fact that the ER doc actually called us the other day to follow up! He left this message asking how Max was doing and to give a call back to the ER if we had any questions or concerns. I was very pleasantly surprised....as well as touched by his thoughtful gesture. When I returned the call, the nurse informed me that he was not even on duty that day; he had just come in for a brief time. The overwhelming gratitude I felt towards this doctor, who would check up on us on a day that he wasn't even scheduled to work, brought tears to my eyes. Yes, we are grateful!