Mr. Hummingbird will tease me for my holiday related cheesiness (today is Thanksgiving here in Canada), but considering what has happened these last few days, I can’t help it.
Some of you might have noticed, I was out of commission for part of last week. The reason for this was because, on Thursday morning, we got a call from Mr. Hummingbird’s Stepmum who told us Mr. Hummingbird’s father was in the hospital. While we had known that FIL Hummingbird had not been feeling too well while they were in Spain recently, we had all assumed that it was just a minor travel-related thing. However, when he came back, and the discomfort continued, he went to get checked out by his doctor, who put him on a portable heart monitor for a period of 48 hours. When FIL Hummingbird returned the monitor to the doctor, it was discovered that the reason for his discomfort was that his heart had stopped. Five times. For six seconds.
Since the assumption had been that everything was okay, FIL Hummingbird had left the hospital before the readout had been processed, so the hospital personnel tried frantically to get ahold of him before he got too far from the hospital. Upon his return (he managed to get all the way back to work), he was immediately admitted and a surgery to install a pacemaker was scheduled.
Mr. Hummingbird immediately made arrangements with his boss to go to be with his dad and his stepmum (she and FIL Hummingbird just got married last summer so this was an incredibly scary thing to have to go through after a little more than a year of marriage) and I went to my boss and made arrangements so I could go back to be there the next day.
The 24 hours leading up to the surgery were tense for everyone. Though it was not my biological parent going under the knife, because Mr, Hummingbird and I have been together for three years, we’ve both spent a fair amount of time with each other’s parents and hearing the words “Heart Stopped, “Surgery,” and “Intensive Care,” even if they’re in a perfectly logical context, felt incredibly scary.
Happily, the procedure went well and after FIL Hummingbird was discharged from the hospital, we all had a great Thanksgiving dinner, not only because it was so tasty, but because all the people in Mr. Hummingbird’s family . . . in my family could be there.
I’ll get back to my regular planning blogs later this week, but for today, as schmaltzy as it might sound, I just wanted to take a moment to give thanks for good health and family and to ask you readers, in the spirit of this holiday, what have you been thankful for?
Be funny, be thoughtful, be serious - lay it on me.
I’m thankful for my friends and family as well as having good health that allows me to look forward to the future (marriage, kids, etc.). Found out yesterday a high school friend died from leukemia yesterday after battling it for 7 years. Somehow that makes all the silly planning things seem insignificant. I’m just lucky to be young and looking forward to a great future.
I’m thankful (of course) for my sweetheart and loving family, our health, our circumstances, having internet access to read WeddingBee, good food….
Nice post! Especially for us Americans, everyone can use a reminder to sit back and give thanks! I’m thankful for the weddingbee community, a challenging job (I’m stretching here!) and people to love who love me!
I’m really thankful that people seem to just accept the fact that the “inner” bitch in me is going to be more prevalent during these last few weeks leading up to the wedding than usual. 
In all seriousness, though, best to you and your new family. My father is waiting to be placed on a lung transplant list right now, so I can definitely feel for ya! (And on that note, what I’m truly thankful for is that my family is rallying around each other during this incredibly difficult time in all of our lives…and they’re using my wedding as something to really look forward to during such a frightening period for us all!)
I am more thankful than words can express for my loving husband; thankful that, after everything we have been through together, we are finally joined. I am grateful for all of my family and friends, whom I sometimes take for granted, but who, in the moments I need them most, are always there for me.
I will be thinking about you and your family. I know how stressful times like these can be, but also how much they teach us about what is most important. Take care of eachother.
my dad just had a pacemaker implated a week and a half ago so i totally understand the scariness associated with it. thank god he’s fine and he actually came home that day. so far so good and he’s been feeling a lot better since.
I’m thankful for a supportive and faithful family. We’ve had a few family challenges with health during our planning - the latest coming today. We are just staying in prayer and keeping all in perspective. I’m glad your FIL is ok.
Glad to hear he’s doing okay.
I’m thankful for my guy, mom and sister. They’re the ones I laugh and cry with through this crazy thing called life.
Happy Thanksgiving!
I’m thankful for my sweetie coming to stay with me for 6 weeks while he has training (we’re currently long distance), for loving my new grad school and making great friends, for having a wonderful, supportive family and just for all the blessings that I have.
Happy Thanksgiving!
For spiders, because they kill pantry moths!
What a stressful experience for you and your future family— but luckily a happy outcome and a great reminder of the things that make us all truly thankful.
Tonight, before I even read your post, I was reminded of how thankful I am for my husband who loves me even when I can’t love myself and my god children who are the kids I couldn’t have dealt with as a mom, but who are WAY better humans than my without-a-doubt bad parenting would have produced & make me feel like the best “2nd-mom” ever!
Oh, and Meghan, where do I get these industrious spiders? Mine just make webs in my basement and let the pantry moths run amok!
thanks for thist post! i have been thinking about lately how there is so much more to life than wedding planning (although my free time does not portray that) - so your post was not only encouraging, but personal and humbling. =)
for myself, i’m thankful for our families. my FMIL has cancer, and everyday is a balance, trying to juggle the joy of wedding planning and the fragility of life. for all the struggles we go through, there is no doubt that God is faithful and has blessed us richly.
Miss Hummingbird, I’m so sorry to hear this! I’m so glad that everything went well with the surgery and I hope things continue to improve. My dad recently had his one year anniversary of emergency open heart surgery. A little over a year ago a nurse at his work basically saved his life by rushing him to the hospital, so instead of having a massive heart attack, he went into surgery. It is a long and hard recovery, but this weekend he danced at his oldest daughter’s wedding and he’s got 2 more father-daughter dances in his future! I wish you and the Hummingbirds the best as they go through this. Let me know if you ever need a (virtual) shoulder to lean on!
Mrs. Hummingbird, Toronto
Age and Occupation: 25, Publishing Coordinator
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Videogame Designer/Cartoonist
Engagement Date: May 4, 2007
Wedding Date: June 28, 2008
Blogging Since: September 18, 2007
Venue: A garden wedding followed by a tented reception on Mr. Hummingbird's father's property.
About Me: I’m a pop culture loving, vintage obsessed foodie living in Canada’s biggest city with my fantastic fiancé and our lovable fluffy cat Bettie. I’m stoked to marry my best friend and to throw what I hope will be
the most fun and colourful party of our lives.
A fiance with a kind heart, a sister with a sarcastic sense of humor, and a huge, loving, supportive family and group of friends. I guess I’m thankful for everything.