Normally, my thankful Thursdays come with a list, tallying up all the great things my Father has given me over the last week. But, this weeks thankful post will be for one thing. One thing that I had not taken enough notice of. An answer to prayer, and yet I had not seen how far He had carried us. I should start from the beginning.
In late August of 2001, we invited all our family members to come to church with us on Sunday morning to dedicate our new little bundle, daughter number 3. Scott's grandmother had passed away just a couple of weeks before and this was an opportunity for us all to get together and have a joyful moment celebrating life. Matching dresses were bought and lunch plans were made for after the service. It was supposed to be a good day. Bryce, our oldest, woke up that morning not feeling well. I passed it off and we went on as scheduled. As we sat in the service, she became weaker and more pale. Near the end of the sermon, as it came time for Scott and I to take the girls down front, we noticed that little Bryce's lips were looking blue. A normal person would have stopped here and taken their daughter in, but we were thinking of all the family who had come to see us. The pictures that were taken that day of the dedication show a pitiful little girl who felt miserable. Being just three at the time, she couldn't express just how bad she felt.
After church, we all headed to the restaurant, but on the drive over, Scott and I could see that we had to take her to the doctor immediately. An hour later we were sitting in the pediatrician's office trying to get some answers. He told us that she probably had pneumonia and he gave her a breathing treatment. It totally turned her around. She had color back in her face and was ready to go.
Months went by and then another episode. We took her to the pediatrician and this time he said it was asthma. No medications were given, just another breathing treatment in the office. Each time this would turn her around. This continued on for almost 4 years. I'll admit, I should have asked more questions about keeping this from happening, but the doctor and nurses weren't offering any information on preventing attacks and I was busier and busier as each baby came. In October of 2006, Bryce was spending the day at her grandma's. Meme had called and said that Bryce wasn't feeling well and was very tired. She told her to lay down on the couch and rest while she was busy around the house. After about an hour of resting, she walked through the room and saw that Bryce's lips were blue and she was very pale. She went over and bent down next to her and asked how she was doing. All Bryce could whisper was, "I'm scared." Immediately my mother-in-law called me and I rushed Bryce to the pediatricians. She was so week I had to use a wheel chair to get her up to the office. Her oxygen levels were so low, that they automatically started her on oxygen and began talking about admitting her in the hospital. The rest of that day was a whirlwind. We did not admit her because the oxygen and breathing treatments helped open her airway again. That day Scott and I decided we needed to check into an asthma specialist before it got worse, if that was even possible.
We saw an asthma specialist in November of '06 and they started her on an assortment of medicines. Since then, she has not had a full out asthma attack. The medicines help to ward off any triggers, and we have learned the steps to take before it gets to bad. Over the last 2 weeks Bryce has begun feeling poorly again. We tried the steps we knew, called the doctor and tried other steps, but things were not getting better, not worse, but not better. So yesterday I took her back into the specialist. They changed some of her medications and said she should feel better by Friday. As I sat there discussing her case with the specialist, we talked about how far Bryce has come. She still takes medicines daily, but they are all the lowest dosages. She had no trouble with her asthma in the fall and only one incident so far this spring. This is leaps and bounds from where we started out.
As we drove home, I poured out in my heart how thankful I was. I had missed how far God had taken my little girl. He had carried her in His loving hands in those dangerous moments and He had carried her through to where now she can live her life attack free for the most part. This is my thankfulness for the last week. I am so thankful that God keeps working even if my attention is not on the fact that He is there answering my prayers. I am so glad that He loves and takes care of my babies. Bryce has already started to feel better after just 24 hrs on the new medicines. God is good -- all the time -- God is good!
