Today's Grateful (11/14/10)

Tonight, I have a little two-year old with a fever of 103.6.

So tonight, I am thoroughly grateful for the wonders and availability of modern medicine in this country.

And...

for the grocery stores and drug stores that are open 24 hours for the purchase of medicine, soup, and pretzels (that make sick little boys drink more).

for the Tylenol and Ibuprofen that allow us to bring his fever down, make him more comfortable, and giving us far better odds than those who lived even 100 years ago.

for the tubed oxygen that, without which, both Thomas and Max would certainly have died at birth.


for the pulse oximeters that allowed us to know how long they needed to stay on extra oxygen.

for the suctioning device that made it possible for Max to heal from RSV not even a year ago.

for the CT Scan that diagnosed my pulmonary emboli.

for the interventions that helped my mom outlive her prognosis by three and a half years.

for the doctors, nurses, radiologists, lab techs, janitors, pharmacists, and all others who keep hospitals running and who care about the experience that each patient has while facing their mortality.

for the pioneers of medicine who made this all possible.

Tonight I am grateful that I can care for my feverish little boy.  And I pray that the time will come that each person, no matter what nation they live in, will be able to say the same about their own children.

P.S. Four hours after writing this my 11 month old popped a 103 fever as well.  And I am even more grateful for Tylenol than I was when I wrote this.