Merriam Webster defines Thanksgiving as the expression of gratitude, especially to God. The act of giving thanks.  A public acknowledgement or celebration of divine goodness.

Thanksgiving is a holiday that began in 1621 with the colonial pilgrims and Native American Wampanoag people sharing an autumn harvest in what would be New England, off the coast of Cape Cod. Thanksgiving was a celebration of the harvest and blessings of the past year. The colonists had been accustomed to celebrating thanksgiving with days of prayer and thanking God for blessings such as military victories or the end of droughts, so it just made sense to continue this tradition in their new homeland. This is why we will celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday next Thursday.

But we shouldn't just be thankful on one day of the year, but every day that we are here, everyday and every time something good happens.  I am forever grateful that God has allowed another year and half with my dad. That my dad is with us today and that he is strong and functioning and living life. I thank God Every. Single. Day for this blessing.

Even though my dad is much improved and healthier today than he was last year, he is still struggling with some recurring issues. Back in September he was hospitalized for a few days due to excessive amounts of blood in his urine to the point where he couldn't void. Long story short, after multiple trips to the E.R, being catheterized and seeing urologists, the tumor in his kidney has not grown, but has gone deeper into his kidney and therefore has been the cause of the bleeding.

After two different evaluations from urologists in Kalamazoo, my dad asked for a referral to U of M. He has been to a urologist at U of M twice in the last few weeks and they have decided to go forward with treatment. Next Tuesday November 21st, he will again travel to U of M for an angiographic embolization, where a surgeon will reach the arteries of the kidney through a large blood vessel in either my dad's groin, side or arm and eliminate the bleeding. They say it is a procedure they have done multiple times and with people in my dad's same situation. He will need to stay overnight for monitoring.

For these doctors I am thankful. 

We ask for prayer for my dad; that he will tolerate this procedure, his pain will be minimal and that he will recover quickly. Prayer for my mom as she will be there with my dad; that she will have patience and peace throughout this ordeal. Prayer for travel safety to and from. Pray for the doctors that God will guide their hands and minds.