Chicken Pox and Learning To Be Thankful

     My son Brett just turned 25 years old on January 11th. Every time he has a birthday I reflect on how thankful I am for him. Brett has had a life that has been plagued with scary and hard things. He is my third child of six.

Katie, the first to get chicken pox

     Brett's first brush with death happened 2 months before he turned 3 years old. His sister Katie came down with chicken pox after being exposed by a classmate at school. Chickenpox started out as the typical case for her with blisters here and there and not feeling well. Then some of her chicken pox swelled up the size of oranges and got infected with streaks spreading up her legs. I had seen chicken pox and had had them but nothing like this. We soaked her in the tub and worried and prayed over her. One day the pus came pouring out of her infected legs while she was in the bath tub and she started to heal. Her poor legs eventually healed and she got better.

Katie's infected leg

Now the 3 boys (Cory not pictured) have it and Katie (middle) is feeling better

      Ten days later my sons Adam, Brett and Cory came down with chickenpox after being exposed by their sister. It was hard having 3 children so miserable and my son Cory was only a baby. My oldest, Adam at 7 years old, had them around and in his eyelids and he was miserable. They all started out typical for chicken pox too, then Brett got a lot worse.

Day 1: This isn't so bad. I get to watch movies all day

Day 2 and he has blisters in his mouth and he won't eat

Day 3 and he is getting more and more blisters and he has a fever of 107 degrees

    By day 3 he was covered in blisters. They were not just here and there like the other kids, his body was covered with them. He even had them inside his mouth. His fever soared to 107 degrees and he wouldn't eat or drink and if we did get food down him he would throw up. That is when real fear sets in. The doctor's office didn't want us bringing a contagious child in so they, thinking we are probably over-reacting parents, told us to get some tylenol in him and wrap him in wet towels. We did this and his fever would go down a few degrees but then it would go right back up. He kept getting sicker so I called and got permission to bring him in a back door of the doctor's office. The doctor was alarmed at how bad he looked but he thought Brett would turn the corner very soon because the disease should have peaked by 3 days and then he should get better. He told us to give him one more day and if he was no better to take him to the hospital. I had already been doing the all-night vigil with such a sick child and a baby waking up every few hours. Winn would spell me if I got too tired but he had to go to work the next day.

     That night I was up with him and praying a lot for him. He was so miserable and looked so sick. I took his temperature again and it was 107 degrees again. I got the strongest most powerful voice in my head that said, “Get him to the hospital now or he will die”. I will never forget the power of what I felt. I woke Winn up and told him he needed to get him to the hospital. It was 2:00 am Thanksgiving morning. I stayed home with the kids and tried to sleep because I hadn't slept in 3 nights but I just couldn't sleep. I was too worried about Brett.

Hospitalized, delirious and dehydrated

      When morning came I called Winn's Mom and Dad and they gladly took Adam and Katie so I could go to the hospital. I was glad they were living in town because Adam was still contagious and it would have been hard to find a babysitter. I took Cory with me because I was nursing him and he was still sick and throwing up a lot. Winn was exhausted so I sent him home in the afternoon.

    Brett had been sent to a hospital that specialized in critical care pediatrics. The doctor told me that Brett was so dehydrated from so many blisters and not being able to eat and drink that he would not have lived much longer if he had not been brought in. His little veins were collapsed because of dehydration and they had a hard time starting an IV. I had a miserable day at the hospital but after 3 days of fighting this at home, I was relieved we had professional help. The doctors and hospital said it was the worst case of chicken pox they had ever seen.

We were thankful when he fell asleep but it never lasted very long

      So I spent my Thanksgiving sitting in a hospital room with 2 sick children. Brett was delirious with fever and couldn't relax or sleep and he kept trying to pull the IV out of his arm. He would scream and cry and he wanted to go home. If I tried to comfort or hug him his blisters would pop all over my hands, which hurt him and made him cry harder. Cory also kept crying and throwing up. I felt helpless, scared and upset that as a mother I couldn't comfort my children. It was one of the longest days of my life. I cried a lot too. All 3 of us were crying. I was exhausted and I didn't know what to do. 

     I kept thinking, "Why us? Why Brett? Why does such a sweet little boy like Brett have to go through this? I thought what a rotten day it had been. I thought that we should all be sitting around a turkey dinner laughing and talking like everyone else. I thought what have I got to be thankful for on a day like this?"

     But I learned that day that in some of our darkest moments we can learn our greatest lessons. When I asked myself what I had to be thankful for, I got a sweet warm feeling and I realized with the help of the spirit how blessed I was. I had a lot to be thankful for. I was thankful I got the strong feeling to get Brett help, I was grateful to live in a day and age when there is so much good medical help available because if we didn't have that help we would have lost Brett. And I learned above anything else I am thankful for the people in my life and materiel things don't matter at all. I feel like my worst Thanksgiving was the one that taught me the most about being thankful. Now I thank my Heavenly Father for the important lessons I learned that day. Every Thanksgiving since has had a lot more meaning for me. I always reflect back on that Thanksgiving and I'm more thankful for what I took for granted before. I am thankful for a wonderful husband who helps me to be a better person and for 6 amazing children who teach me things every day and have blessed me in so many ways they can't be numbered.

     Brett had to stay in the hospital for several days before his fever finally dropped. Everyone who came in his room had to wear gowns and masks. I was so happy to finally take him home. He was so thin and weak he could not walk and he kept falling over and walking into things for almost a week. His bed was so full of scabs in the morning I had to vacuum out his bed every day. It took him quite a while to get his strength back. And when the chicken pox vaccine came out years later my 2 youngest children were the first in the state to receive it because of what happened to Brett. He has a lot of small scars on his face and body from the chicken pox. I am thankful for his scars. When I look at him and see those scars I often want to cry. They just make me so thankful for him. I love him so much. I can't imagine life without him and all the ways he has touched my soul. I am thankful for all 6 of my children. I feel so blessed.

One month later everyone is healthy and happy. :)