The Thanksgiving that Wasn't Meant to Be

         We had a lot of drama this Thanksgiving.  It all started when Brent went on a temple trip with the youth.  He was going to be home late so I went to bed and was woken up by a phone call from him.  All he said was, "I'm going to be home late.  I hit a deer."  I said, "Are you okay?"  He said he was fine and hung up.  I tried to go back to bed, but I started stressing about all the repercussions this would cause like not being able to go to my brother's for Thanksgiving because our van was broken.  The next morning I found out the deer was dead already when he hit it and the only thing wrong (miraculously) was the fuel pump needed to be replaced (they tied it back on with a rope) and some of the plastic on the van.  Oh and as the mechanic told me later, "You must have hit a big raccoon.  It is in need of a good power wash.  Its pretty grim underneath there."

     So I thought we were good.  But then the insurance took forever to check out the van and give us the okay to get it fixed and then the check engine light came on.  So the van still wasn't fixed as of the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.  But then the mechanic called and Brent brought it in.  One hour later he was back and the van was fixed.  It was a miracle.  So we started getting ready for our trip to my brother's.  We packed our bags and the plan was to pick the kids up from school and leave from there.  That was until Tuesday night when I woke up in severe pain.  

     So as I said I woke up in severe pain.  The baby had been asleep FOREVER so I figured I was just engorged and tried to go express some milk.  It didn't make me feel any better and I started shaking so bad I ran back to bed because I thought I was just really cold.   So I laid in bed hoping the baby would just wake up and put me out of my misery. She did soon after and nursed.  I felt a little better but then my head started hurting.  I am no stranger to headaches so I still didn't think there was anything to worry about.  But I couldn't go back to sleep for a while.  The next morning I woke up feeling horrible.  I thought I might even have a fever, but Brent thought I didn't feel warmer than normal.  He did drive the kids to school though and turned the computer on for MC2.  I laid in bed all morning feeling terrible but mostly chalked it up to the lack of sleep the night before.  I couldn't be sick because we were leaving for my brother's that afternoon.  Our suitcases were packed!  So after sleeping all morning I realized I was really sick.  I didn't even have the strength to get out bed.  Don't worry.  I did take care of the baby so I got up once to grab her out of her crib, change her diaper, and then she laid in bed with me all day.  We napped together.  She loved it.  

So then I called my sister-in-law and told her I was too sick to come.  I thought I still might get better though and we could leave the next morning.  I usually don't get sick for more than a day and never too severely.  I totally neglected MC2 that day.  I put on a movie for him once, he played on the computer and then the IPad.  I have NO idea if he ate that day or if he just helped himself to food because I got him a graham cracker once.  I ate a graham cracker and that is pretty much all I ate that day.  

    At this point I thought I might have Mastitis but I heard that it was supposed to be extremely painful to nurse while having Mastitis and it didn't at all.  It actually felt a little better so I didn't want to go to the doctor and be sent home.  I also didn't have the energy to get up and drag two kids with me to the doctor.  Looking back I wish I had though.  

     A friend picked up the kids from school and they ran upstairs and GC1 said, "Mommy why are you still sleeping?"  I told them I was sick and we couldn't go to their cousin's.  They were devastated and cried.   Honestly I didn't have the energy to even console them.  I just told MC1 to change the movie that was on downstairs.  Then Brent got home and took care of everyone.  He also went to the store to get things to make a Thanksgiving dinner.  I didn't think our turkey would thaw in time and it didn't.  

      So the next day was worse and I realized I had mastitis for sure.   My left breast hurt like crazy and was red and inflamed.  I'd heard mastitis is horrible and no one did it justice.  I have never been that sick.  I checked my temperature on and off and it was bad.  I slept again most of the day and the kids kept checking on me and I told them to leave me alone!  I realized a doctor visit would be wise, but I didn't know where to go on Thanksgiving and we cannot afford a visit to the Emergency Room.  

Brent managed the children, took them to the park, and they spent a lot of time like this:

 They were stir crazy and kept checking on me to see if I felt better so we could go to their cousin's house.  MC1 even offered to read to me if it would make me feel better.

   Eventually we called a friend to help Brent give me a blessing.  At one point my fever got really bad and I brought Brent the baby and hid in my room for two hours with an ice pack on my head.  At this time the same friend who gave me a blessing came over with food for Brent and the kids which was super nice.

Then my fever broke and the next morning I decided to go the doctor but was miraculously healed.  I didn't even take a nap that day.  I did have a wicked bad case of dehydration though.  My head felt like I had had a migraine or for those of you who have never experienced a migraine it felt like I'd been bashed over the head with a baseball bat.  I drank water all day and I still don't think I made a dent in the dehydration.  As a result the baby was not happy with my milk supply.

We decided to have our Thanksgiving dinner that night and Brent took the kids to get a Christmas tree while I laid around at home.

Brent says they "killed" their tree.  So proud.  MC2 had just woken up and was not a fan of participating.

Now that I look back at the events leading up to Thanksgiving I have decided it just wasn't meant to be.  Something was trying to stop us from traveling this year.