I Am Very Grateful
I thought my gratitude meter was off the charts.
I’m a guy who gets excited from the air going around in the room, no need to motivate me. Then our 3 yr old daughter Paige became ill this month. Another wake up call to just exactly what is most important in life.
Paige is our youngest of three girls. She is beautiful blond little gem who gets under her sister’s skin every minute of every day:)
After we returned home from our trip to New York City June 29th, Paige began running a fever. A day later she could not move her neck. Instant thought: Meningitis. We took her to the emergency room for tests & xrays – nothing.
Three days later we take her to see her pediatrician, he says she has a virus and a stiff neck coincidentally. Give it time it will go away. Five days later of 102 + fevers, we take her to Urgent Care. They refer us to Children’s Hospital’s emergency room. After observing her – they admit her into the hospital.
Through all of this I’m praying that she does not have anything serious, I would trade places with her in a minute. I hate seeing my kids sick, not to mention being in a hospital bed away from their stuffed animals and comfort of home. I’m a basket case while my wife Angela is keeping strong for the both of us.
After two days of testing, they rule our most of the serious stuff. Paige’s fever goes down below 100 for the first time in two weeks – we go home.
The next day, fever is back and so is our anxiety. Our little girl is just not right. she can’t move her neck, walks funny and is just plain miserable – all she wants to do is sleep and watch TV – not the 3 yr old firecracker she was before our NY trip.
Back to Children’s Hospital we go, where they admit her once again.
This time the Dr’s say “She’s not leaving until we find out what is wrong with her!”
From her hospital room, I am updated all my Facebook friends and twitter pals. I found the true power of social media during our trials of trying get our girl better. Friends from Australia to Ohio were lifting us up – truly awesome.
Paige was scheduled for CT Scan and MRI over the next two days. The poor girl was stuck with more needles than a pin cushion and was not happy with anyone wearing a white coat. One Dr tried to examine her neck and Paige pushed his arm away like a welterweight fighter. Everyone was feeling a sense of frustration as all the tests were coming back negative. One doctor reminded me however, that NOT finding something wrong is actually a good thing.
Long story short, CT and MRI were negative as were all the other important tests. Her fever remained below 100 for three days and she was discharged. Paige was one of only 10% of the kids who come thru Children’s that leave undiagnosed – told you she was different;)
As I look back over the past few weeks I think how little anything else mattered except getting Paige better. I could have cared less about product launches, speaking engagements, info products or anything else related to business. My little girl was hurting and she needed to get better – period. I speak time and again about how people have it all wrong. They get so wound up in their own world of business and other ‘stuff’, that they leave the gratitude tank empty.
I did not need to have the daylights scared out of me in July 2009. I thought I had my head screwed on correctly – in the sense that I didn’t take much for granted. But I was scared as hell. I was a mess. I remember saying “God, you take care of Paige and I’ll be a better follower – promise.” Then I thought of how stupid it was to make a deal with God, I should be doing it anyway.
The point of this post (yes there is a point) is that no matter how grateful you think you are, you can take it up a notch.
Paige is slowly coming back into the fired up little girl she was before our tip to New York City. She’s not there yet, but she’s getting a little better every day.
At night I peek in on her while she’s sleeping just to stare at her – in gratitude.
Grateful she is home with us again.
Grateful she’s no longer hooked up to IV tubes and other crazy stuff.
Grateful I was blessed to have three healthy children.
Grateful I didn’t have a boss or employer I had to gain permission from in order to be by her side.
Grateful I woke up today.
Grateful for you.
Life is good.
Sam
Champions Speak Out
Cheryl
On August 1, 2009 at 9:00 am
Thanks for the reminder that we should all
remember to be grateful. I am grateful too.
Thanks
Charles
On August 4, 2009 at 6:03 pm
Yes, I’m am emotional guy, and I gotta admit I cried when I read this.
How true.
it’s a tragedy most people go through life unsatisfied with one thing or the other, rather than grateful.
Gospel of John, chapter 1, verses 1 through 13 tells of who created all we should be grateful for… Jesus Christ.
Roxana
On August 9, 2009 at 10:21 am
So incredibly inspiring! I am so glad that Paige is better!
What an amazing reminder – life is so short and we all have so much to be grateful for!
Cheryl
On August 11, 2009 at 11:58 pm
Thank you so much for just reminding me not to keep focusing on the negative. i have just found out recently that my husband has had 2 affairs in the last five years that last 3 yrs and 2 yrs respectively. It shakes your whole world upside down, let alone mine but the children as well. I now see the need to focus on being grateful for the lovely children and health that we all have. Thank you once again for a great reminder.
Susan
On August 18, 2009 at 2:13 am
I am so graetul that Paige is well. I am grateful that you shared your story with us. I am gaeful that |I got to read it. Thank you for this wonderful day.
Su
JB
On August 18, 2009 at 5:28 am
Recently i read the importance of gratitude beads chain, any chain of beads can be taken and one gratitude thought per bead and the full chain everyday to be cultivated as a habit. It does work wonders as i have seen.
Gary
On August 20, 2009 at 7:11 am
Reading this post was and still is an emotional experience for me. My sister recently died and my Mom, bless her heart is 89, is having a difficult time with it.
I am so grateful for your honesty and integrity in your writing. It is my intention to have that quality in whatever I speak and write. Thank you so much for being who you are… In Love and Gratitude… Gary
Juanita
On August 20, 2009 at 3:44 pm
I do not get out of bed in the morning before giving thanks for so many things, one being to have a comfortable bed to lay my head on. I end my day with gratitudes AND throughout the day, I give gratitude, even as simple as having a green light if I’m running a little late for a meeting or a beautiful butterfly that caught the corner of my eye. When one lives a life with gratitude, it is challenging to be depressed.
Love and Light
Justine
On August 21, 2009 at 5:37 am
Thank God Paige is doing well I do not like it when children have to suffer. The last time I cried was when I saw a voulture waiting on a little child to die in Soudan Dafur!!! Yes I think we should all be Grateful each and every day….
Thank You for all that you are doing.
Joy
On August 22, 2009 at 5:18 am
I am so glad that Paige is getting better. I to hate to see anyone in pain. My Mother had a long period of jaw pain which made me feel helpless. You want to relieve it but you can’t. Also that you for the reminder to be grateful for each day that you can still walk, talk and be merry.
Barbara
On August 23, 2009 at 9:07 am
Hi Sam – thank you for sharing your story. It is so easy to get frustrated when the things we want don’t show up that we forget to give thanks for the things we already have. Even in the worse of circumstances there is always something to be thankful for, and you remind us how important is to always tune our senses to gratitude.
Willow
On August 23, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Hello Sam, thank you for sharing. I am experiencing the worst circumstances of my life at this time. I can tell all of you that every morning I give thanks for simple fact that I woke up and have a another chance to change my situation.
Michelle
On August 23, 2009 at 4:44 pm
Wow, I am so inspired by you! As a single mom try to get back to my own feet for financial indepandcy and financial freedom, you assured me to stick with me dream – work from home in order to spend time with my children, rather than getteing a job to never see my children.
I totally love what you said in the video: “If a person invests 10 years in his or her dearm, he or she wouldn’t only be rewarded a vase like you have!
Pertti
On August 23, 2009 at 7:13 pm
“Every Saturday is fullbooked due my choir traning and after it
I will be shopping food,wine,drinks to enjoying in my home city
in Turku,Finland”.
I´m now operating with my own small company,looking to find out
some partner to it.
The mainpoint is walking in the river area and forest-get fresch air…and thinking where the “hell” I find to me woman who is good
wife..? Age betwen 32-48 y.
I´was thinking juts last Saturday how this world wide economical crisis has damaged many companies to the bankdrot?
Who is the person-how to solve this crisis on the right way-knowing
tyhe reason for whole “#cake”#?
I like also finnish sauna-and swimming in the sea or lakes where is
my summerhouse.
“We must take hand i hand and try to be “on the same opinion”
this crisis-and be winner of it”!
Susie
On August 24, 2009 at 7:26 am
I understand. I have 3 kids and I am grateful for how awesome they.
I am being demoted at my job because they dont think I have the skills they need for the way they intent to change the company and I have realized that I really have wanted to leave this company and so I am grateful to them for forcing me to do what I have wanted to do all along. I know that if you have enough faith and only think about what you want to happen and believe it which is important things will always go the way you want them to.
Take good care of your babies as they are our gifts from god.
Brandy
On August 26, 2009 at 8:02 pm
Thank you for your story Sam. I am much like Juanita. Every morning I “look above” and give thanks. Yes, I have one more day to show my gratitude, one more day to sing praises and after e-mailing or calling one or more of my five kids and always end the day with thanksgiving. It truly is scary when the most precious thing in your life is so sick. You feel so helpless, but I must say, you did good Sam! The lesson learned here is to never take another day for granted and yes, there is always room for more gratitude and thanks. I notice that if it seems to be a not-so-good day, I shake it off and say to myself it will get better and it does! : ) Have a blessed Saturday.
Jeanetta
On August 27, 2009 at 11:44 pm
Thank you for sharing your story Sam. I hate seeing children sick and suffering and to be a parent of a sick child, especially when no one seems to know what the illness is can be life draining. I’m so glad Paige is home and getting better. Doctors don’t always have answers. Sometimes (at least I found) that you can find answers using your own research. You fired up a torch in me that reminds me of why working for other people doesn’t suit me personally. I don’t like having to get “permission” to be with a sick relative, or take vacations, etc., etc. My mother died unexpectedly in surgery, and I wanted to go with her. When an employee called me to tell me that my bosses were discussing “when” I HAD to return, she called. I called Human Resources, got the real facts, called my boss and laid down the HR rules & regs on bereavement leave. The only comment she had was “OH!”. I arrived back at work in accordance with policy, not “gossip”. My bosses didn’t know the regs. Thanks for bringing up these motivations and the wounds in me. I’m ready to pursue my passion.
Anonymous (you have my email)
On August 28, 2009 at 4:29 pm
Look back and see if your trip to NY (or prior to it) was very stressful on the mother of your beautiful little girl
I am grateful you are all well. I can relate to your fears back in July 2009. I am expecting a huge amount of money to come into my life and so much of it will go to Westmeads Childrens hospital.
Sydney, Australia
Jacqueline
On September 2, 2009 at 11:14 pm
I came across you just in the past week and have been listening to ‘Mondays’. Today I thought I would check out your website and found this story. I cried, not just for you, but for me too, for I was in the emergency ward just two nights ago with a sick daughter. At the time I was thinking, I hope they can find the issue, as almost exactly 2 years ago, I had a similar situation as your Paige, taking this same daughter to the hospital with high fevers and they thought she had Meningitis, only to find out it was an Abscyss. She had the operation and a day and a half later we were home again after being in hospital for nine days. And whilst I was sitting there on Monday night, I was thinking like you, there has to be more to life and how important it is to cherish what we have. I am grateful that I have a boss who does understand, however, I was thinking that I need to change that and work on my business idea and take action! I feel quite strongly that we need to be there to nurture our children and be there – helps with their self esteem amongst other things.
I am grateful that my daughter is now home again and that she was well enough to go to Kindergarten today. I am also grateful that she is on the mend. I am grateful that an understanding boss and I am grateful that I could attend my sons ‘Spring Spectacular’ extravaganza at School. And I am grateful that I found you Sam, as you seem to be quite an inspiration! Thanks! Thank you for sharing your story! Good health to you and your family!
Pramod N B
On September 4, 2009 at 10:34 pm
Dear Sam,
Thank you very much for sharing the incident in your life.
Well it happened in July. Now its Sep 09. She she must be back as bubbling as she was before the sickness.
There seems to be a divine message from this event in your life.
Paige have taken the role to suffer herself for us.
She has participated in and event to make us realise how our way of life needs corrcetion.
And you have yourself suffered for those days when she was unwell. With your time, money, health, mind and what not.
My God you have participated in the event and suffered for we people to review our own life.
Are we taking things that are wonderfull in our life for granted or are we gratefull about them.
Well lately I have been gratefull about many things. However I still need to be gatefull for many more things in my life.
I still need to rejoice more for the things that I have which I am not rejoicing right now.
Thank you very much both of you The Paige And The Sam for going through the pain so that some clearity can come in our life.
What a Divine way.
God Always Blesses All
Pramod N B
India
Michele from NYC
On September 6, 2009 at 1:41 pm
Sam,
I am so glad you, your sweet daughter and the rest of your family are all getting better. In my experience as a parent, when our children are not well it takes us off our center and shifts our focus. For some us greatly, for others just enough to disturb our spirit and challenge our principles and vision.
I am glad that you worked at remaining centered, which is not easy to do, while supporting your family amidst a crisis. Its a testament to your self-development.
Living in NYC I know for a fact its a very germy, virus infested place. I learned how germy when my then 2 y.o. and I were riding in a subway car. We were seated near a window and as he bounced happily standing on my lap he leaned his forehead against the glass pane mesmerized by the scene outside. Suddenly I saw the look of disgust on my fellow passengers faces as they stared at my child that was licking the window, unbeknown to me, over my shoulder (iuck! is right). In a few days time my son fell violently ill much like your daughter. Even my own medical background could not help relieve my son of his symptoms or illness or help him improve.
As C.S. Lewis said, prayers helped in that it gave me the peace of mind and spirit to help me deal with it all. That peace of mind helped me work with his medical team in asking questions and offering suggestions to seek out answers and possible solutions. Then one day, several weeks into his illness, and after much prayer and medication, I pulled out my journal in order to purge some of my negative fears and thoughts by writing them out and doing battle with them on paper, I came across my previous entry, in which I detailed my son’s subway window washing with his tongue, with both humor and horror. Suddenly I remembered a science experiment I had done on a subway car many years before while in my high school biology class.
In that experiment we were supposed to grow bacterial cultures in petri dishes. The bacterial cultures were supposed to came from common surfaces we all touched. The aim was to get at least 10 different cultures we could identify. I chose to swab the surface of a metal hand strap and a pole from inside a subway car in different areas and then deposit the cultures in my 5 petri dishes. I hand the most outstanding results in the class. I had 35 cultures that I was able to identify and over 200 I could not.
The next morning I had a consult with my son’s pediatrician. During that consult I detailed the tongue cleaning event, my science experiment and my thoughts about a possible scenario in which my son’s immune system was not just battling one or two illnesses but instead a whole army of viral and bacteriological illnesses. A great deal of bloodwork later we discovered just that, he was fighting many different viruses not just one. Too many in fact to be treated with any one medicine as any one medicine would suppress aspects of his immune system leaving him vulnerable to the remaining one.
The only course of action was not to fight the diseases but to buildi up his immune system. As you and I have found, the only way to combat negativity is through positivity. To focus on what is positive, gives us gratitude and inspires us.
It was a slow recovery for him too back then. Over six months to be exact, but as a result his immune system is stronger, he is healthier than ever and now seldom gets sick. I know your daughter will come through with flying colors, look at who she has for a dad, an awesome inspirational individual. May she be well, stronger and better than ever sooner than you think!
All of you will remain in my prayers till then!
Zeina
On September 25, 2009 at 1:03 pm
Thank God your little Paige is healthy again!! And what’s truly inspring is the support system your family gathered through the PAST difficult period!! Wow, what happened to you brought a tear to my eye, yet a tear of relief and happiness for the amazing way God takes care of everyone, it’s truly an everyday miracle to be blessed and recognize the blessings we sometimes take for granted,,, I’m truly thankful for the health of the people I cherish in life, for they are, with their each unique qualities and own specialnes, the true treasures that count the most… Take Care …
nasara
On September 26, 2009 at 2:17 am
Thank you for sharing your story with us. I used to be a pessimistic person. Married to a man who looked good on the surface, very nice. People knew him for the bad person he was. Two years later, we seperated and i sued for divorce. It was a very rigorous battle. After trying to stop me from being everything i could be, playing God in my life, trying to dictate to me what to do and what not. Putting a stop to my job, my social and financial freedom. Now he is late. Am in mourning. I began to give gratitude to God for my life, my family, my job which i got back, my health and everything.
I now keep a gratitude journal where i jot down ten things i give gratitude to God for in my life.
DEBANIK
On September 29, 2009 at 4:17 am
God bless.
You are a master of gratitude, actually !
Dena Meier
On March 5, 2010 at 12:53 pm
So much joy to hear your Paige is recovering, will do well.
I am always pleased, happy, joyful over goodness for other people.
For we all all one, and what effects others, affects me.
I send my love to Paige and all of your family,
Love,
Dena
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