RSV...The Testimony Builder

I'm sorry that I haven't posted in so long! It has been a rather hectic and trying time right now. Last week Hannah started to get a cough. Of course being a mom I went into overprotective mode and immediately started to worry about her. Jonathan tried to assure me that nothing was wrong with her. Typical dad thing to say right? Well by Saturday evening she was running a pretty high fever and her cough had gotten a lot worse. Now I was worried. By Sunday it was just awful. She wouldn't sleep through the night, her fever wouldn't go away and she was tossing and turning and didn't want to eat a thing (which is a big deal for her. She's my food lover.). Finally Jonathan agreed with me that we needed to take her to the doctor, so on Monday I called and got her an appointment. The doctor who saw her was a really nice guy and I appreciated the kindness that we were shown while we were there. He listened to her lungs and said that she sounded very very congested and that concerned him. He could hear that even though she was screaming and fighting him the whole time. And then her oxygen was low and she needed to have a breathing treatment right there in the office. Once Hannah calmed down they were able to get a better listen of her lungs and this caused them to worry more and so she was sent for a chest x-ray and tested for RSV. Lucky day: She tested positive and the doctor was a bit concerned that she might have developed something more. So they put her on breathing treatments with a nebulizer and sent her to get her nose suctioned out.

We were hoping that after a few days that things would get back to normal. And after she got some treatments done, Hannah was doing better. But then Liam started getting sick. Really really sick. I took him to the doctor just yesterday and lucky for us he also tested positive for RSV, but he got something more. Liam ended up with an ear infection in his right ear and had to get antibiotics on top of the breathing treatments.

It's been a scary and tiring week for me, but Hannah is feeling a bit better and Liam finally got something in his stomach today. I've been so worried and stressed about my babies they haven't really eaten and I was concerned about dehydration and I've been praying constantly for them. And through that I've been comforted to know that all would be well.

It's been a real humbling experience for me as a mom. I've really had my faith tested and my testimony strengthened. I love my children so dearly and I never want anything to happen to them. When they get really sick I wish I could just take the pain away from them. I can hardly stand it, seeing them so miserable and unhappy.

I have to wonder if this is a small taste of what our Heavenly Father feels all the time as he watches his children. The worry and the concern. He loves all so much and wants us to be happy and taken care of. And sometimes we get sick or hurt or even heartbroken and I know that he wants to take that pain away from us.

For me it's kind of like the atonement. When I watch my children suffer, I want to take the pain from them, just as Christ has done for us. I want to be there to make their burdens lighter. Because I know that my Savior has done that for me so many times over. He's taken all of my heartache and troubles and eased the pain. He's carried my sorrows and given me a shoulder to cry on. He's blessed my life in numerous ways, even though I don't feel as though I deserve them.

And even though I can't take away their suffering, though I wish I could, I can be there for my children. I can take care of them and give them the comfort that they so desperately seek from me. I love them so unconditionally that I would do absolutely anything for them, Just as I know Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus would do for me. They are my treasures, just as all of us are treasures from Heaven.

What a great blessing it has been to have the opportunity to take care of my children.