Quite a few years ago, I saw an article in one of the many women's magazines that I subscribe to that gave suggestions of new traditions to start. I am always trying to come up with new ideas to bring my family together, and decided to do this. Seems simple enough...at the Thanksgiving table, go around and each person states something they are TRULY THANKFUL for. Doesn't every family already do this? Well, I come from a family that was very "surface" in their way of showing affection, so I was interested in changing that. So, I started this tradition, much to the chagrin of most of the other adults at the table. But, they humored me, and a tradition was born.

In May of 2000, my husband's 35 year old brother (his only sibling) was murdered, shot eight times. My husband's family is nothing like mine. They are a VERY tight knit group and it tore them apart. So, of course, it did not seem like we had a lot to be thankful for at Thanksgiving that year. But, we still went around the table and came up with something, ANYTHING, that we were TRULY THANKFUL for.

Fast forward to last year, 2006. November 18th. It is the first cool day here in SW Florida....cool enough to shut the A/C off, and open the windows. My hubby left early to go fishing and opened ALL the windows upstairs before he left. I got up, noticed it was chilly, and shut them. Later in the day, my then 9 year old asked if she could open the windows, it was getting hot upstairs. I said sure. The girls and I leave to do some shopping with plans to go to a movie later with Dad when he gets home from fishing...just  a typical Saturday afternoon. Not so much. As I unloaded my car from a scrapbooking workshop the night before, my then 7 and 3 year old daughters were saying "hi mommy" from their upstairs bedroom window. I answered, but I have a diesel engine that was running, so I don't think they could hear me. For whatever reason, my 7 yr. old decided to pull open the plantation shutters and help the 3 year old up onto the bench seat. The next thing I remember is seeing their screen falling out of the corner of my eye, then what I think is a doll immediately after. When I realize the doll is wearing the same clothes as my 3 year old Rebecca, in one second my life changed. She landed on our concrete driveway about 4 feet away from me, on the corner of the front entryway step. She went unconscious as I reached her, which I was actually grateful for, because it meant I could leave her without the fear of her moving so I could run for the phone. My neighbor across the street told me later that she heard my screams for weeks afterward, that you would think someone was being murdered. I got the phone, dialed 911, never even spoke to them, as my neighbor was at my house by then. Her son had seen Rebecca fall, and she came over. I threw the phone to her, and ran to my baby girl, who was just coming to. I grabbed her head to hold it still, because I've always heard to "keep them still" to prevent a neck or spine injury. I could feel breaks in her skull with my fingertips, but knew that I had to hold her tight, as she was fully awake now and screaming and wanting me to pick her up and comfort her. It was all I could do.....every fiber of my being.......not to swoop her into my arms and cuddle her, but I KNEW that would be the worst thing to do. The doctor later said that she probably would have suffered worse brain injuries had I not straddled and controlled her like I did. The ambulance FINALLY arrived, she was med-flighted to a local hospital, and they stabilized her there. After that, they med-flighted her two hours away to Tampa because our hospital didn't feel comfortable keeping her, in case the swelling on her brain got worse. My husband was able to fly with her, but I drove with my mom to Tampa. I used that time to call my friend Shannon to tell her to get online and spread the word....it was Saturday night, I knew many people would be going to church the next day, and we needed all the prayers we could get!  When I got to the hospital, I didn't even recognize her. She was completely black and blue, swollen beyond recognition, and her left ear was about 2 inches lower than her right. I thankfully had a picture that her preschool had just taken to hang in her room so the doctors would know what she REALLY looked like! My closest friend Deanna was spreading the word with everyone she knew in her church community. I called her Sunday morning and said "Whatever you're doing, keep doing it!" Rebecca had gotten the tube out of her throat, and her first words were "I want chocolate milk!" It turns out that at that moment, at Deanna's church, they were holding a hardcore prayer circle for my little girl. TRULY THANKFUL! She stayed in the pediatric ICU for 5 days. The night before Thanksgiving, she was moved to a private room. Thanksgiving morning, the doctors told us she was going home.

Rebecca has completely recovered. She had eight hematomas on her brain, three skull fractures, and a lot of fluid that had to be drained. And only FIVE days in the hospital, and she's like new. Tell me prayer doesn't work! I believe my brother in law Jeff caught her. I believe he is our guardian angel, and I am TRULY THANKFUL for him. I am also TRULY THANKFUL for everyone that came to our aid that day. From  my neighbor across the street, to my BFF Colleen L, who was at my house in minutes wanting to know "what can I do!!?!?", to the EMS workers, the hospital staff, the pilots, everyone who prayed. I now know what it feels like to be TRULY THANKFUL for something. It means you feel it with your whole heart. What are you TRULY THANKFUL for? You don't have to experience something so traumatic to understand it. But, I'll tell you what...I'm so incredibly grateful for each day I have and my wonderful family and friends. That is what we are here for. That is what life is all about, after all.

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