The Value of Health

For the past four days, Eli has been battling some kind of cold/flu virus from hell. (Warning: those with weak stomachs and/or sympathetic hearts may have trouble with the next sentence) It started with vomiting which led to croup which led to terrible chest congestion which led to more coughing and now has turned in to the cold that settles in the eyes. Today, my poor son could barely keep his eyes open because they were so red, puffy, and watery. All he wanted to do was watch The Lion King, and that even proved to be a difficult task. My heart aches just watching him suffer all day and all night long for days on end.

You may recall our health crisis last year with Ainsley at this same exact time of year when she suffered from a febrile seizure and a kidney infection (see A Real Scare).

It seems as though the universe is trying to send me a yearly holiday reminder of the value of health through the pain of watching my kids suffer with illness. I know that everyone, either themselves or someone they love, suffers or has suffered from some kind of health situation. Lord knows I've been through my share of health stressors, namely watching my grandmother suffer so long at the hands of everything to do with Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease. I worry about my other family members who also have the disease, including my mother and my daughter, and I also think about my life and having this disease. Every day, I live thinking about my health and my kidneys, my daughter's kidneys, and how precious life really is. If I base my life on the number of years my grandmother's kidneys lasted (pre-dialysis and transplant), I am more than middle-aged. And I'm only 32. There's my daily wake-up call.

Tonight, ironically, I am thankful for our health. Although Eli has been miserable these last four days, things could be much worse. He can take cough syrup and we can rub Vicks on his chest to help him feel better. This isn't always the case for those who suffer from worse health problems. And if next year, the universe decides that I'm the one who gets sick as my yearly reminder of the value of health, I can only hope it's the kind of sick that can be relieved with something over the counter and a day home on the couch.

Here's wishing you and your family health and happiness this year of 2012!