A special day indeed

Thirty-five years ago on this day, my father was in the University of Utah hospital. He was finally "out of the woods" as they say, after having had encephalitis (a virus that causes inflammation of the brain), being in a coma which left him paralyzed and unable to speak, and pneumonia which collapsed one of his lungs. After a few months there, he was moved to the hospital in Moab in a long-term care situation. He was able to communicate only by blinking his eyes as we went through an alphabet chart and wrote down each letter, spelling the things he wanted to say. One day, we noticed one of his fingers was moving. Excited about the possibility of more improvement he was sent back to the University of Utah hospital for physical and speech therapy.

When my father contracted this virus, my mother was expecting, but neither she nor my father knew it at the time. When she realized she was expecting, she tried to hide it from my father so he wouldn't worry about her and the baby. There was already much to worry about. They had six other children back at home, including my sister who was born with cerebral palsy. My older brother was a senior in high school and was left to run the business as best he could. Of course, we had help from many people who took us in and brought us meals when we returned home. My mom and dad had helped many people through the years and now it was their turn to be helped.

Now, back to where I started this story. Thirty-five years ago on this day, it was my father's birthday. Of course he now knew about the baby that was to be born. As he worked hard to improve his speech and physical movement at the U of U hospital, my mother was at home in Moab and decided that she wanted to give him a very special birthday present. She had an appointment with the doctor and he said the baby was ready to come. He gave her a dose of pitocin to start labor, she came home to feed Debbie, and then went to the hospital with her best friend, Sister Raymond, to give birth to her new baby girl.

And that's the story of how my sweet sister, Ellen, came to be born on my father's birthday.

She has been such a blessing to our family. She was born eight years after the next-to-the-last child and brought joy into an otherwise difficult time. She and dad had a special bond. As dad improved, he was able to ride in an electric wheelchair. As a little girl, Ellen would sit on the wooden desk that was strapped onto the wheelchair, we would pull dad's arm around her, and off they would go. When dad needed the radio turned on or a pen or any number of things, she would climb up onto his feet, then pull herself up onto his desk and reach whatever it was he needed. When she got too big for the desk, she rode on the back of the wheelchair. Sometimes, she could understand what he was saying when no one else could.

Life has, indeed, been different for her, but let's face it, she never had to go to work with him and throw rocks out of a new road he was making, drive the loader back and forth across a dam that he was building to compact the dirt, or drive a backhoe down from a mountain work site when she was 12 years old! (Yes, I'm talking about me, but I wouldn't give up those experiences for anything -- they taught me how to work hard, to take pride in a job well done, and that I can, literally, do anything. Those things have come in handy throughout my life. Thanks Dad. You're the best and I love you.)

Even though Ellen was the baby of the family, she also learned to work hard and has a great deal of compassion for others. She has a beautiful family (with a husband and four children), volunteers at school, community, and church events, and is always looking for ways to better herself and make life easier for others. Thanks for all you do, Ellen. We love you.

Also born 14 years ago on this day is our nephew Zackery. He is a great young man and we are very proud of him. Happy Birthday Zackery!

One additional note: Also on this day 185 years ago in 1823, a heavenly messenger named Moroni appeared to a 17-year-old boy named Joseph Smith and told him that God had a work for him to do. That work was to restore the gospel of Jesus Christ as it was when Christ was on the earth. He was told of an ancient record that he would translate that is now known as "The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ." That book tells us of the importance of faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. It tells us of Christ's atonement where He gave His life for each and every person on this earth so that they could overcome physical and spiritual death. It is called the plan of salvation, the plan of redemption, the plan of happiness. It is this plan that reassures me that my father and sister, Debbie, will be made whole after this life. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Thanks Dad, for raising me with the knowledge of this gospel and for being a great example of service, strength, and love. Happy Birthday.