Thanksgiving in the Children's Hospital

First let me start by saying, this is not how I envisioned my Thanksgiving this year. I pictured Willow Grace running around and laughing hysterically at her cousins. I plans on cooking a half a dozen dishes for two different Thanksgivings, one with the Reeds and one with the Bratchers. I thought about Mom's amazing sweet potato casserole and dressing. And yet, none of those things will be a part of this day. Instead, I'm sitting her watching my little sleeping princess, looking so tiny and fragile in this big hospital bed.

Last week she started to feel a little bad, and then on Saturday she woke up with a fever, just a little one at 100.2. But by Saturday night her fever peaked at 104.3, still not alarming, as she has had high fevers like that several times before. What did cause alarm was when she started passing blood in her stool. By yesterday morning, she was passing only blood and was as limp as a rag doll, and so to the ER we went. The last 24 hours has been a journey, and it looks like we still have some ground to cover before we finally get to take our little sweetie home.

But I have so much to be thankful for:
-my friend, Leslie, who dropped everything to come with me to the hospital yesterday
-the great care she's receiving here
-a comfortable room for us all to be in, even if it is in the hospital
-our family and friends who have been so supportive
-all the prayers that have been spoken for Willow Grace and for us
-the fact that her condition is not more serious than it is
-all three of us were able to rest last night
-that I know God is holding us in His mighty hands

I could go on and on. Hopefully I'll be back here in a couple days though with a whole new list of things for which I am thankful. Thank you for your prayers.