Grateful

Disclaimer: This post might be somewhat sentimental and sappy, but I (and this is Jevan, by the way. You can typically tell it's me because I spell the word "weird" correctly, but rather than make you hunt through the post searching for that particular grammatical cairn I'll just get it out of the way) reserve the right to do that every once in a while. It's been a rather eventful week here, one of those weeks that really makes you think about everything and do a little self-examination. I'm typically not good at introspective thought; I tend to think about things like how, given different circumstances, I would have been Batman, only cooler. But today, I am going to focus only on the important stuff. So, without further adieu, here is a list of things for which I am grateful:

1. I am grateful that Jane can speak: This might seem odd, especially for any of you that have spent much time around Jane, given her propensity for non-stop talking. In this situation, however, it was indeed a blessing. Em was at Young Women's so I was putting the kids to bed. Allie was exhausted so I decided to put Jane in the tub while reading Allie stories and singing her songs. I told Jane to make sure she turned the water off when it got full, something that I know she can do. At least I thought she could do. (At this point, I know you're thinking "I'm sure glad my husband doesn't do anything that stupid when I'm not around." Trust me on this - you're wrong. We all do stupid things like that. And they usually work. You only know about the few things that DON'T work) Anyway, I'm sitting in the chair, rocking Allie, who has fallen asleep, when Jane knocks politely on the door (a real no-no), opens it up, and innocently asks me "Dad, which way is off?" Fortunately she came in before the tub overflowed, so a crisis was averted.
2. I am grateful for modern medicine (part 1): We found out on Wednesday that Em was going to miscarry. We kind of had a suspicion that something wasn't right, as this pregnancy didn't quite feel the same as the others (no nausea, no real symptoms, etc.), so it wasn't entirely a surprise. This is also the reason we weren't broadcasting to the world that Em was pregnant. I am grateful for modern medicine in that we were able to know that it was coming and prepare for it to happen. The doctor gave Em a prescription and told her what to expect, so at least we went into the ordeal with what we thought were open eyes.
   
3. I am grateful for modern medicine (part 2): Not entirely knowing what to expect, we decided that Sunday would be the day for Em to take the prescription and... I can't find the right words, but you can guess. Anyway, I had planned on watching the kids and supporting as necessary. Well, not getting into the gruesome details, suffice it to say that by the time Em had passed out for the third time and was completely unresponsive for a good 5 minutes I decided to make my very first call to 911. The paramedics were there in less than a minute. They took a look at her and decided to take her right in. They loaded a disoriented and confused Em onto a stretcher and took her for what has to be the shortest ride in an ambulance ever (.3 miles). Literally across the street. Awesome.
4. I am grateful for family (part 1): So, in a panic, I called Stephanie again and asked her to come back and watch the kids. She, of course, dropped everything and came rushing. The poor girls were at this point distraught at seeing their mom carted off on a stretcher; I was too. I headed to the hospital and went to find Em. At this point, she looked pretty much like a corpse (albeit the most beautiful corpse I have ever been married to...). Come to find out she had lost about 40% of her blood, which even in my non-doctor ignorance I know is a Bad Thing. They decided they needed to do an immediate 'd and c' (look it up if you're curious, but this is a guy-friendly blog and I can't break one of the cardinal laws of Guydom by talking about gynecological procedures in anything other than vague terms and acronyms). My mom was there for moral support, which was wonderful.
5. I am grateful for irony in a time of trauma: While the doctors were running in and out, running tests, pumping Em full of IV fluid, and all the other fun stuff that was happening, the funny little paramedic from the Fire Truck came over to me and told me he had to give me a pamplet. I asked what was in it, and he said it basically said that the fire department would not tell any of our neighbors that they had come to our house and taken Em away on a gurney. Right, because parking a 40-foot fire engine outside of my house on a cul-de-sac and sending 4 paramedics in to carry Em out was so discreet.
   
6. I am grateful for modern medicine (part 3): So, finally they got Em into the surgery center, where the medical staff quickly performed the surgery and immediately got the bleeding to stop. She took 2 units of blood that night and 2 more again this morning and is finally at home, snoring away next to me. I can't help but think that if we lived in the middle ages or were Scientologists she would likely not be alive.
7. I am grateful for family (part 2): My family had the girls all day, Em's mom was down in the afternoon and is going to come over tomorrow morning to help out, and all of our family members have been very helpful over the past few days. We love you all!
   
8. I am grateful for neighbors and friends. Throughout the day, people from the neighborhood have called and asked what they could do to help. So nice to have people around that are concerned about your well-being.
9. I am grateful for perspective (part 1): This was never really a life-threatening ordeal for Em, so I didn't really thought that she wouldn't make it. I can't imagine what it must be like for people that see their loved ones go in to a procedure and not know if they're going to see them alive again. That being said, I had a real moment of panic when I gave her one last kiss before she was wheeled off. It's those times that make me realize how much she means to me. I'm glad she's ok, even if her snoring does make it tough for me to concentrate.
10. I am grateful for perspective (part 2): With all of the additional hoopla around the process, it isn't lost on us that a miscarriage is a tough thing to go through. I think we'll have a little more time to grieve and go through that process once things calm down. That being said, I am grateful that there were no complications and that we'll be able to have more kids in the future.
11. I am grateful for my 3 beautiful girls: I love them all.
    
12. I am grateful for sleep: And thus concludes my post.