Something to be Thankful For

There is only 1 day left until Thanksgiving. Liam's first Thanksgiving and first holiday spent at home with us. It is very exciting for me. I am so happy and so very thankful to be able to have him home with us on Thanksgiving. It is such a joy and momentous. We have been so very blessed with Liam's condition. Most CDH babies are in the hospital anywhere from 6 months to 3 years before they ever get to see their home for the first time. The fact that he survived everything he has to this point is a miracle and worthy of true thankfullness. Yes this year for Thanksgiving, Liam is my reason to be thankful. I pray everyday thanking God for Liam and the memories we re creating. When things start to feel overwhelming I have to remind myself that this isn't the worst things have ever been. The worst was when I had to sit at Liam's bedside just stairing at him dar after day while on ECMO and paralyzed. Everyday I feared would be the last. Everyday I prayed he would continue to get better. Things from back then are still a hazy blur. My emotions however are as strong as they were when I had first felt them. I know life is full of struggles and hardaches. Liam has done so much for me. He has strengthened my faith in God. I know it's a shaky platform but it's still there. I still want to yell and ask God why at times. I understand that God is the only one who truely knows what his plans are and we should never ask why. But when you are facing such tribulations the pressure and stress get to be too much and you become weak. I pray for strength because I know Liam isn't out of the woods. I know that his lungs are working really hard to breath and that his heart will always have stress because of being pushed over. I know that kids with CDH can be fine one minute and move on to earn their wings within hours. Theres no way to tell if his heart or lungs or other organs will continue to grow strong or suddenly stop working. All we can do is pray for th best. Everyday in November your supposed to list something your thankful for. All mine seem to be revolved around Liam. Today on FB I said I was thankful all my Christmas shopping was done and that most of it was wrapped. The reason behind this is because of Liam. I won't have to take him out into stores that are over packed with people, some sick, some carrying a virus. We avoided a detrimental setback to his health this way. If Liam does somehow catch something from a close friend or family member visiting who didn't even know they were carriers of a virus and ends up in the hospital for Christmas then we're ready. Liam and Lanie will still have a good Christmas even though we're at the hospital. Justin and I have even gotten our own Christmas gifts. We have both been in need of a few things and decided that for Christmas we would get those things we needed. Shoes, clothes, things we haven't been able to afford. I feel that this is a great reason to be thankful. What will make this a great Christmas is having Liam with us. Our family is finnaly complete. With everything we have been through since Liam's birth I feel that it doesn't matter where we spend the holidays as long as we are together. Ofcourse I would rather be at home then stuck in a hospital. So for now, I'll continue to administer Liam's meds, play with him, love on him, and make memories with him. And, God willing have the strength to handle anything that comes in the future.