The Power of Prayer

Tuesday afternoon Baby Girl said she wanted to go to sleep. She hasn't taken an afternoon nap in at least a year? I figured something was wrong. When she asked me to rub her belly (that is what she likes just before she goes to sleep), that is when I realized she was on fire. 102.2 to be exact. This all took place just before Merlin left for the Vegas Bowl. He offered to stay home and I told his to go, we would be fine.

After the kids and I ate dinner we snuggled up on the couch to watch a movie. We had a hard time watching because Baby Girl was coughing, coughing, coughing. It wasn't a cough here and there. It was constant, maybe a 30 second break in-between coughs. Anytime she gets sick it is bad because of her asthma. At 6:00pm I gave her 2 puffs of her rescue inhaler. The directions say "2 puffs every 4-6 hours as needed." It didn't help at all. At 8:00pm I gave her 2 more puffs. Nothing. Constant coughing. The saddest part was, she was being so sweet and trying to smile through all the coughing. By 9:00pm I thought this cannot go on any longer, neither one of us will get any sleep. So I called the after hours doctor and took her in the get checked. Her oxygen level was 93%. Not so good, but she wasn't wheezing. The doctor told me I could give her 4 puffs of the rescue inhaler and since she wasn't wheezing he didn't want to start her on steroids, but if the coughing-breathing got worse in the night to take her to the ER. (Just what I wanted to hear.)

As I was driving home crying, listening to my baby coughing and then begin to throw-up (5 times before we got home) because she was coughing so hard, I was wishing Merlin was home to give her a Priesthood blessing, but no, he was gone. Maybe my brother Tim, no he was gone too. Kirt, Aaron, Ryan. No, they are all gone. I got home, cleaned the car and my baby, put her in her PJ's, gave her 4 more puffs of her rescue inhaler and climbed into bed with her. I thought if I read to her for a while she would settle down and her cough would go away. But that did not work. So I did what I should have done at the beginning. I said to Baby Girl, "We should say a prayer and asked for help so you can stop coughing." She and I folded ours arms and bowed our heads and I began to pray. I began by thanking my Heavenly Father for all of the many blessings he has given me and my family. I guess Baby Girl thought I was going to forget to ask for help so she crawled up and whispered in my ear a reminded, "and bless Baby Girl to stop coughing." As I was asking for help, Baby Girl started throwing up again from the coughing. I ended my prayer, cleaned her face and took the throw-up bowl to dump in the toilet and rinse out. By the time I got back to my bed, she was sound asleep as peaceful as could be. That is when I said my next prayer.

I am so thankful for a loving Heavenly Father, who is always there ready to help, if we just ask.