"Typhoid Christmas"

Here is the account of the worst Christmas I have ever had short of when I was 13 years old.

My uncle heard of all the trouble and called my mom "Typhoid Clare," but I told everyone it should be renamed over the whole Christmas.

Let me share the list:

--My grandma was in the hospital a week before my mom and dad got out here for the first time in six months, so they had to worry that she was going to die before they got home. She's 86 yrs. old and they were talking about hospice to finish off her life. My mom got there (she's a nurse) and got her off the feeding tubes and stuff, and my grandma was like, "thank you." No relapse in that agressive throat cancer we found out the next week, all benign polyps. Wow. But she's weak and living on her own as of the 19th. My parents were taking care of her and living with her.

--Monica my sister scheduled her induction of her third baby on the 21st. Monica had already been struggling to live basically on her own for a week before giving birth because her husband had gotten so ill with the flu that she had to go live with her sister in law. That same morning that she was admitted her husband Rich was also admitted into the ER. Rich already knew that because of his flu he couldn't be there for the birth. But now Monica cried because she was worried for Rich. By nightfall he had been admitted to ICU.

--The next night they found unchecked pneumonia which had exploded outside his lungs to along his chest wall, and they moved him up to the top of the list for surgery. Rich no longer was allowed to breathe on his own, but a machine moved his body up and down while he tried to sleep.

--The surgery was successful but his body decided to stop breathing while he was undergoing it, and was put on the ventilator. Meanwhile, their little two and four year old girls were left confused not seeing their mom for about four days, and left with odd babysitters except when I had them, on the 23rd and the 24th. The girls could not come to see their mom because they both were throwing up with a flu.

--The sister in law who was supporting my sister and the three children (Rich's older son Colton came up to see his dad for the first time in over a year, but still had not seen him even though he arrived on the 18th) had run out of food, especially affecting the kids.

--On Christmas day we drove up to see my mom and dad who were anxious to see not only me and my kids but also my sister and her girls, and we only had an hour and a half to spend because we were supposed to spend all day on the 24th but since no one bought the groceries for dinner, my mom explained "I can't do everything," and cancelled it. (You see, she was fighting for my grandma's life and then was fighting everyday with the docs for Rich's life.) When we drove up all the cars were gone because my dad had gone to the ER having intense abdominal pain--a suspected appendicitis. After five hours in the ER he went home with pain pills for kidney stones. We didn't see each other at all.

--On Tuesday the 27th as I was putting on my shoes to go see my friend Julie, home from the Peace Corps commitment to Jamaica for a coveted two weeks, my friend Mel who is 34 weeks pregnant went into possible early labor and called and said, "Can you come and see me? Can you watch my son for me?" Two hours later she was released but things haven't been the same for her pregnancy. Her husband just found out yesterday that he has bronchitis.

--They wheeled over the newborn baby and my sister from the mother/baby unit to ICU, right before Rich's surgery. He couldn't touch the baby because he was in a containment thing, but he was very proud to see him. After the surgery, whenever he would wake up he would fight the tubes and so they had to sedate him, and they kept him sedated for that reason until about three days ago.

--I had the flu leading up to the 21st, when Monica had her baby. Since she didn't have her husband to stay with her I did for those two nights, and as soon as I got out, the two days when I watched in total seven kids and cooked dinner for seven adults as well as well as making cupcakes for Jesus' birthday as well as helping the kids make get-well cards for their uncle/father, Ben was in bed sleeping for two, almost three days straight. His flu did not go away like mine did but developed into strep throat, which only got through hanging on yesterday.

--The sister and brother in law who were hosting my sister and her kids, contracted about four flus in about four weeks, of which I have now caught one of them I guess again, and the whole family was throwing up as of yesterday.

--Rich got off the ventilator miraculously on Wednesday, and finally came home yesterday night. Now their brand new little baby has caught the throwing up flu, and is congested. The two little girls have not seen their dad for over a week, easy.

I feel like it has finally ended, now that this evening I went over and saw Rich face to face for the first time in several days. He was laughing like his usual self--so amazing. I remember wrapping the presents for Christmas on the 24th and thinking, "What are you doing, Rich??" We all thought for most of this time that he was going to die. Monica and Rich might lose their home, because his job had no benefits for sick leave.

Now let me tell you what I am thankful for:

We all have our loved ones to hold tight.

My church was amazing. I asked for prayer and then I asked for a donation of an hour of housework so that the kids could have a pleasant Christmas while with me, and when they came they brought groceries for the family who was so much in need of them. They also brought grocery store gift cards. One family came over Christmas Eve night just when I was running out of things and energy for the kids, and just rough housed with them--not even Ben could do this for children who sorely needed their fathers.

Then I received this email:

"Hey, everyone..

"I know that most of you have been kept up to date with T's emails regarding Michele's brother-in-law's situation, so I'm not going to go into detail on what's going on... But the idea has been brought up, that it would be nice for our class to prepare meals for Michele's sister and family. Not only has she just come home with a newborn baby, which can be tiring and require a lot of work, but her husband is still in the hospital... We have one meal planned for Monday night, the 26th, but we are looking for volunteers to start bringing them meals starting the 28th, Wednesday, and continuing every other night, for as long as we can help out with.

"If this is something that you are interested in helping out with--please me know as soon as possible---and I will get the dates coordinated. I know that the majority of our class has probably never met this family before--but what a testimony of God's love to be able to reach out to strangers during this hard time in their lives.

"Thanks,
C."

And there they came. My sister saw the food being put into the back of her car and said, "You're kidding?!" Hugged me and started shaking. The sister-in-law started crying really hard and said, "You don't know how much this means to me." The kids came running out, all happy and excited for having someone to play with them, everything had turned around, and they drove away smiling and laughing back tears.

That was a God-moment.

Kim called me later and the first thing she said on the phone was "Michele, you have a wonderful church."

Who cares about a flu or two. I got to see Rich today, playing games with his little girls. The girls I worried were going to be orphaned. I am learning so much about family and the preciousness of children because of first my miscarriage and second the thought that my own flesh and blood nieces would have to know a world losing their father so inexplicably.

He should never have gotten so ill. And once he got so ill, he should never seemed to be able to recover. I will never take for granted his life again. I'm on my knees, seeing him, grateful and awestruck at God's mercy and faithfulness.