You know the phrase “What a difference a year can make”? Well mommas,  it has been one hell of a year. Last Thanksgiving morning my son was sick. We thought he had a stomach virus because there was one circulating around the third grade at his school. He was so ill that he could not enjoy his Thanksgiving dinner at all. We would go months without knowing just what was causing his symptoms. Around the same time, my father in law was experiencing unusual symptoms as well. We all tried our best as a family to keep going and enjoy the holiday season but it wasn’t quite the same. To make matters even worse our neighbor and a close friend passed away just a few days after Thanksgiving.

I have been so hesitant about sharing this with you all. I am a pretty private person but hopefully through sharing our story, I can help someone else. This has been a very painful time. I often found myself questioning God. Why so much at one time? Why is my son sick? What did I do wrong? It would take months to find out his diagnosis. Chrohn’s disease. At first I was in denial. I didn’t think that kids could even get that. I thought it was a disease in adolescence or older adults. I really had never even heard of black people having the disease. I hate to even label him as pediatric Chrohn’s. But test after test showed signs of this disease. We have been to several doctors, reached out to specialists, tried a holistic approach, acupuncture and all. He even got better but 6 months later it reappeared.

Choosing a treatment path is one of the hardest things to do. As parents we only want the best for our children. I really don’t like medicines. I will use them if nothing else works but the thought of giving him the wrong medicine or over treating his symptoms at such a young age scared the shit out of me. But here we are a year later and we had to make a decision. I have to trust and pray that the doctor knows more than me and take her advice. In a few weeks we will be starting treatment. I hope and pray that it is the right decision.

After talking to several friends and even strangers over the past few weeks, I have learned that so many of us are going through challenging times. When you are going through it, you think that you are the only one going through hard stuff, or no one understands what you are going through. Everyone paints the perfect picture on social media. But when you take a step back and look around your trials are not hardly as bad as others. I have also learned that we can heal by helping others during their difficult times. Sharing our stories can help too. I have met so many new moms from sharing my story.

So this Thanksgiving we are so very thankful for all of our blessings. We are thankful that we are able to enjoy this thanksgiving dinner together. Our family is a little smaller now. My father in law lost his brief battle with stomach cancer in February. But, sometimes that’s just the way life goes. I am so thankful for my wonderful husband, beautiful children and supportive family and friends.  Most importantly, I am thankful for being alive and able to make a difference in the lives of others.

XO,

Sharonda