Well, it’s that time of year again – you know – the most wonderful time of the year. A time of chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose, Christmas trees, caroling, hot chocolate … O wait … it’s not? Oh, I see, it’s not but every store has their Christmas decorations out and Holiday music is already incessantly being played – makes total sense… To quote Richard Roeper, “Even though we’re a week and a half away from Thanksgiving, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas”!
We’re not a week and a half away from Thanksgiving at this point but just a handful of days, yet culturally we are quick to move past it. In honor of Davy’s first Thanksgiving I wanted to hit the brakes on jumping on the Christmas train and reflect on a topic that I don’t spend enough time reflecting on – thankfulness.
I’m going to be honest with you it’s hard to be thankful right now. It’s hard to be thankful when your daughter is in a hospital bed. It’s hard to be thankful when I just want get my daughter better, but I can’t because I’m helpless. It’s hard to be thankful because when I envisioned Davy’s first Thanksgiving it was her surrounded by family and (absurdly) too much food not IVs and a breathing machine.
Honestly, in most moments it’s just easier to play the victim and give in to self-pity. It’s easier to be the Chair of the Self-Pity committee. It’s great – you can mope around all day in your PJs, watching endless episodes of Netlflix and eat a whole ice cream in one sitting (out of the carton of course). Why? Because sometimes it’s easier to escape life than actually having to deal with it.
However, that never works does it? It may assuage your emotions momentarily, but then the the next thing you know you’re stuck in the same victim mentality spiraling towards depression. I know how it goes. I’ve been there too many times staring into the abyss of my soul ready to just give up and stop fighting.
In moments of emotional sobriety though I remind myself of a profound truth: Thankfulness is a choice.
Thankfulness is a choice that must be fought for and pursued with tenacity. One doesn’t just become thankful, thankfulness is carefully and diligently cultivated. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you”. Did you catch that? Give thanks in ALL circumstances – not just some of them. Why? Because it’s the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
We’re not in this hospital on accident. We’re in this hospital because God is doing something bigger that we can’t see for His glory (Isa. 48:9-11) and for our good (Rom. 8:28). So we can be thankful during this time because God has rescued us from sin through his son Jesus (1 John 3:16), we can be thankful because God is good and His steadfast love endures forever (Psalm 107:1), and we can be thankful that even suffering is bursting forth with divine purpose (2 Cor. 4:16-18).
So today I choose thankfulness. Today I choose to fight.
I want to end today’s post by writing just a few things I’m extremely thankful for in this season of life.
- God – He has been the shelter from the storm and the rock for our feet.
- Chelsea – I have the most spectacular wife and she’s a total babe. I wouldn’t be half the man I am today without her.
- Davy – I’m grateful for my little girl. I’m grateful that she’s alive and fighting to get healthy. There was a point where I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to say those things.
- Our church – The church has surrounded us with love, compassion and support during this time.
- Our family – Chelsea and I have the most amazing family that is supportive, loving and kind.
- Our friends – We have the most incredible friends in the world. Seriously.
- Dell’s Children’s Hospital – This place is amazing.
- Our doctor’s and nurses – They aren’t just doctors and nurses – they are our family.
- Readers of the blog – That’s you! I’m grateful for you who are keeping up with our story – both near and far! I’m grateful for your prayers and the encouraging comments you send us. They bless us more than you know.
- Insurance – I know I may have complained about insurance in the past, but I’m grateful for it now!
Remember, thankfulness is a choice. Fight to choose the better portion.
Davy Updates and Prayer Requests
Davy is doing ok. Her lungs are progressively getting better and they are slowly lowering her O2 support, which is a total praise! She continues to grow (14 pounds!) and is very playful in the mornings. The echocardiogram showed that her PDA is still slightly open, but they are content with still letting it fully close naturally on its own. The biggest struggle we’re having is trying to figure out why Davy is throwing up so much. She’s been throwing up 5-10 times a day and our medical team is exploring the potential reasons why this is happening.
- Wisdom – Pray that our medical team would be given divine wisdom to figure out why Davy is throwing up.
- Stomach – Pray that Davy’s stomach would settle down and she would stop throwing up so frequently.
- Joy – Pray that Chelsea and I would fight for joy in this season and continue to cultivate a heart of thankfulness.
Hi Scott and Chelsea. Amen to giving thanks. I agree with you on so many levels. You ARE in the hospital to do something big there and affect lives that you may not have otherwise. You ARE surrounded by an excellent healthcare team. And you are loved by an almighty and all powerful God through whom ALL things are possible.
It sounds like Davy is making really good progress. I am so happy to hear that. Hang in there with the vomiting. Mikey vomited 20 times per day until he was over 2 years old. I had doctors rule out everything I could think of (if you want me to walk you through them, please don’t hesitate to call me)…and then finally just had to pray and wait. Wait and pray. In the end, I came to the conclusion that these babies just have messed up anatomy and they cannot digest properly and their gastric motility is slow. At one point, he was on up to 15 doses of medicine per day for his vomiting. And one day, he just stopped. Most parents that I have talked to with a baby who had a CDH have GI issues.
But the fact that she is growing is awesome. That means she is keeping more calories in than she is losing. As long as you can continue that trend, she will thrive!!!
And just to ease your mind, Mikey is 4 now. He doesn’t remember at all how he used to vomit. I was always so worried it would scar him forever because as a parent, it is SO difficult to watch.
I continue to pray that she will be home before Christmas, that her PDA will close spontaneously and that her vomiting will stop soon.
She is so blessed to have you as her parents! And again, the door is ALWAYS open for you to call me. I would be so happy to help you two along this journey.
Lori Naglieri
Thank you. Your humility and faithfulness are a huge testimony. We will continue praying for your beautiful little girl and your family here in Michigan. May God bless you!