Emergency Room with Our Daughter

The past 6 weeks have been a test of strength and courage for our family. It started with our kids getting sick at the end of February and they seemed to get a bit better…But then it got worse and our 3 kids ended up with bad lung infections, that eventually led us to the Emergency Room because our daughter stopped breathing and Dr. Sarah had to perform mouth to mouth resuscitation to clear her airway.

Thank goodness she was ok and after almost 6 weeks we are seeing the light in their eyes again. But it was challenging to say the least. For anyone out there who is taking care of someone who is struggling with their health, just know that you are a hero, but please don’t try to do it alone, we all need help.

After having some time to think on these events, a few thoughts and reflections have come up. 

First off, many people are oblivious to how incredible our living bodies are and how much our innate intelligence (i.e. biological wisdom, spirit, God within) does for us, without us even knowing. Whether it’s your heart beating 100,000 times a day, your lungs breathing, your stomach digesting, your brain and glands secreting hormones and your liver detoxifying, all these things are happening without you even knowing. No matter how smart you are, your educated mind cannot perform these functions and we often take them for granted, until there is a problem.

We have all heard the saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Now, I know I am preaching to the choir, because most people in our practice try to be proactive in maintaining their health, but many people take better care of their cars than they do their bodies. As parents we try to create the best environment for our kid’s health and development. They eat well, get lots of physical activity, prioritize sleep and have been getting adjusted since birth, but to see them lose so much weight, strength and hardly be able to breathe is frightening. I can only imagine how much worse things might have been if they were not healthy to begin with and we just let them coast through life because they seemed ‘ok’.

Second, as a parent being up all night with sick kids and hardly being able to sleep because you are on edge just trying to make sure they can still breathe, is exhausting. We continued to try to hold faith and see them healed and whole, and we were so grateful for all of your prayers.

But at the end of the day, you can start to question will this ever end, will they get better? One of my mentors once told me, “The amount of anxiety in your life is directly related to the lack of clarity in your vision.” As chiropractors, we have an incredible belief in the body’s ability to heal, we see miracles happen in our office daily, but when you are nearing your whit’s end, this is when your beliefs are most challenged. It was hard to have a vision that extended beyond one day, one hour, or even one minute, especially when we were waiting anxiously in the Emergency Room.

This was a stressful time and I am thankful that my wife and I had each other to lean on. When one of us was down, we were picking the other one up. In hindsight, there were many things that took place that helped us move forward, when our vision was unclear. We ended up in the hospital 4 weeks after my daughter had started getting sick (we had been to a walk-in clinic prior), but they reaffirmed that she did not need any medication or antibiotics and the attending doctor said, “She just needs more time and her body will take care of this.” We knew this was God letting us know that she would get better and to stay the course.

Third, when you are forced to just be present and focus on what is happening right in front of you, the things that don’t matter and don’t serve your life become obvious. Our kids’ schooling, extra-curricular activities and travel plans all went out the window. We didn’t love losing these things, but what we gained was the realization that we don’t need them to be happy. We did some home schooling (when they could handle it), took them out in the stroller to get them fresh air and just spent time at home as a family. We had to cancel a seminar in Montreal as there was no way we were leaving our kids, even though they were starting to improve. After being a little disappointed, we experienced incredible joy in just being at home with our kids, spending time outside in the sunshine and seeing them laugh and play as they were starting to get better.

It is easy to get caught up in being busy in life with activities, travel and socializing. I love these things, but they are insignificant when you do not have your health. Health is our greatest asset and something we will continue to invest in for ourselves and our family because it is so much easier to maintain your health, then try to regain it once it has been lost.

The past month or two has been a reminder of how blessed we are and how family always comes first. We did all we could to prioritize rest and healing, while still doing our best to show up and serve our community because we know there are others who are suffering and need our care.

We are thankful how understanding everyone was when we had to cancel your appointments and feel grateful for the all of the love, support and prayers during this time. Thank you.

Dr. Thom