Thankful

2 Corinthians 9:13-14
Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. (NIV)

In 1995, We were blessed with an angel,  Our son was born, He had aspirated meconium in the womb and was on Oxygen and antibiotics to begin his life.  Little did I know that 16 years later this would be a normal for us.

 Lets fast forward 4 years later.  We now lived in  Singapore.  Zack my son is a healthy 4 year old he had beat the odds, with RSV, Menegitis, Pnemonia, a mystery illness and several others.   It on a HOT  winter day that we found that Zack had melioidosis,   It was over the phone that we received the call that our son would be passing in 48 hours.     It was that day that we discovered that he had an allergy to the only known Antibiotic that “cures” the disease.  ( it was that day that our lives changed forever.)  It was that day that both my husband and I got on our knees and Thanked god for the days that he allowed Zack to be in our lives.   FF to 3 days after this news.. we sat in a hospital room talking to a very active 4 year old who refused to eat anything but Frenchfries and BBQ sauce.  We sat in a room where doctors looked on in amazement at the remarkable improvement that Zack had.   We sat in a room Thanking our God once again for the days that were given to us for our son.   We returned home that next week with instructions that at the slightest fever, slightest cough, rash vomiting, or anything that did not seem normal to immediately return to the hospital.   Zack returned to School and we returned to life.   The disease it appeared had disappeared.   Or so we thought.   FF to 2002 We are now living in Virginia.   Zack had been sick a few times in between but he was doing great.   Then that morning came,  Fever  104.0 the area where they had removed the bacteria as largely inflamed,  his face was rashy and he was vomiting, we panicked.  Why because only 5 children in the USA have this disease that Zack has only 5 children total have the infection he has.  5 days in ICU,  10 days in the hospital and our fears were born again,  The doctors called it a close one and the nurses said that they had just witnessed a miracle.  I call it us giving thanks to God again.  And we were told that we were looking at the most 5 to 7 years left before the disease would take over and take our son.   We continued to pray for our son’s health.  

FF to July of 2011 we had just moved to Ohio we left a great doctor who in 2010 had performed a surgery on Zack that was at the time risky,  it was at the time necessary because the illness was flaring.       In July Zack had started to complain his hip was hurting ( it will always ache)  So we gathered him up rushed him down to Children’s and again we were back to where we have been for years prior.  Only this time everything went wonderful we were in and out with in a day.  Til the unfortunate stared.. You see this disease Melioidosis is a mimicker.  It likes to replicate the symptoms for other diseases and hide the truth .  What is a cold to you becomes pneumonia to us,  What is a rash to you becomes a staph infection to us. 

On October 18^th, 2011.  We celebrated our 16^th year of being blessed to have zack in our lives.   We celebrated quietly with cake and punch and prayers of thanks.   You see on that day in 2002 we were told we would never see this day by doctors.  We were told that it would never happen.   We were told that well it will be a long road but a very bad road.  We believe that it would happen, we believed that he would make it we believed that God has a plan for Zack though we may never know what it is we believe that god is the only one who knows.

I have journaled our lives journey’s over the year in sporadic places.   And its kind of amazing to think that indeed the journey we have made is one that I would not wish on anyone but I am so Thankful that God has allowed us to take this Journey.  

FF now to the current day.  You see little did we know that 16 years ago when zack was born, His father and I carry recessive Genes to a disease called Angio Neurtoic Edema.  It kind of explains a few things that have happened over the course of the years.   Allergy flare ups,   Pain in joints, bones and other areas.  And most recently another 3 day stay at Children’s  for an anaphalytic reaction to what we had though were allergies what we found was not only allergies but this illness.  And yet again we were told that If the reaction goes anaphalytic  we could lose our son.   Odds that we had been told before. 

So what do you do you start to pray.   Praying for Thanks to our god for what he has given us.   Prayers that God gives you this.   Galations 5 22-23 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

But here is what I ask aren’t all of our day’s numbered?   We are in no way promised to be here on earth for Eternity.  What we are promised is Eternal life thru our savior Jesus Christ.  Its my belief that though I don’t know how many days I have left with my son,  I don’t know how many days I have left here on Earth either.  But every day I give thanks to my God for another day.  Another adventure and another hour, minute and second he has given us to be here with our son. 

Thankful for the God that I know loves us.   As we are who we are and where we are regardless of anything anyone has done Our God loves us.   Prayers to you my friends for your support during the  coming years and prayers to my God who I am forever thankful for the love he has given us. 

Though we may have not won this battle yet we are winning because indeed we are with our God.   What a great gift that is.  

Thank you god so much for what you have given us and thank you so much for believing in our family to raise this angel of yours.  We are eternally greatful for you God.