Be Grateful

If staying in the hospital with Maryam for over a month has taught me anything, it is to be grateful. Yes, she has health issues that keep coming up and every time we tackle one medical concern, another one arises. Yes, our family life has been somewhat unstable from sleeping in the hospital to taking my older daughter to different family members for them to watch her, to my husband not working much and to us not having a social life at all. Yes, we don't know what is to come with Maryam's health needs and when she can even leave hospital and come back home. But with all this going on, all we can say is alhamdulillah. All thanks to God for all the blessings we have. Our daughter is sick and has an extremely rare syndrome but she has a hospital close to home that is taking great care of her. She is in good hands. She is getting the necessary medical attention and that is all that matters. Sitting right by her bed in the hospital now, I can't help but think of how many mothers out there have sick children but no doctors or hospitals near by. People are fleeing countries just to get a chance at finding someone medically trained to help. Staying here has taught me how worldly our world has become. Sometimes we are so focused on living the perfect life, and having everything the way we want. My family in Maryam's first hospitalization slept in the hospital in her same room for 3 weeks and we were content. It made us realize that we have so much more than what we need in our every day life. When everything is the way we want and we have it all, it becomes hard to be grateful. But when things are unstable, you realize how selfish you once were. In my head when I hear mothers complain about how their babies are driving them insane because they won't take their naps, or that they made a huge mess at home, I almost laugh inside and want to tell them to be happy. Be happy your child is healthy and at home with you. Look at the bright side of things. I know while I write this now, someone has it much much harder than I do. And for that, I say alhamdulillah. Thank you God. Gratefulness is a beautiful thing.