First sign of sickness

First sign of sickness
by Sean Cutshall

All indications point to my daughter being alright, as her first sign of sickness takes me for a ride. I will admit, it has been more a test for me, her daddy. With her mother, whom has been the perfect show of motherhood during the first six months of our daughter's life, handling the panic of a uncomfortable child and the worrisome panic of a first time father, we all seem to be getting through our daughter's first sickness.

As a father, and able to admit God placed a special gift of knowing all things about our baby's cries and sighs with the mother, I have to admit, hearing the doctor report our baby had an ear infection stirred up many emotions inside this first time father. Is she in pain? Does she need medicine? What can I do to help ease the pain and discomfort of my little angel? All these questions continue to rattle of the walls of my brain. Walls, which until these last six months, seemed destined to house a very peculiar and, often times, uniquely strange thing called my inner voice. I want to help her, take away any discomfort she might have. But for now, I have to be content with the knowledge this is part of her becoming a healthy child.

My first reaction is to do anything and everything to ease her pain, and take away the infection. And in this case, fighting off infection via medicine might be the best course of action. But, I am aware of the days coming soon when tough decisions must be made in how our daughter fights sickness, whether physical or mental. There may not always be a course of actions so simple and clear. And, simple answers won't always mean the best answers.

According the American Medical Association, children today have a weaker immune system due to the overuse of antibiotics. And, while I am experiencing first hand the difficulty in watching our child be in pain and discomfort, there may be a day we roll back the medicinal solution for a particular discomfort and let her immune system show it's strength and fight, and ability to grow strong through the fighting of infection.

I can only imagine, at this point in my fatherhood journey, just how challenging this might be, and how skeptical I might feel. Like anything else, there are many different things to look at before choosing any course of action. Like knowing when to allow a child to self-soothe, it might be just as painful for me, as a father, as it is for my six month old daughter.

Today, I'm just glad to know my daughter will get better, and her first sickness is very much a part of the growing process for her, and for me. She will feel better, and be stronger and healthier for it. We will be stronger for it. I am her father, and I am Destiny Daddy.