The Blessing of Corbin Alan Osmond
January 31, 2007 @
8:25 PM MST
What a night!!!
I’ve been flying all day, battling a cold and my neck and back muscles
have been cramping on me. We
checked into the Belleview Biltmore Hotel here in Clearwater, FL and then drove
over to the local Outback Steakhouse.
While we were on the way there, I spoke to my wife and she told me that
she had been at the hospital today.
Our son Corbin has had a crooping cough and has also been bruising very
easily. We thought that we would
just take him in to check out his cough and to also have the doctors check his
iron levels, for his mother, Sarah, has struggled with anemia. We were not prepared for what the
doctors were about to tell us.
What was originally meant to be a simple check-up turned out to be an
experience that I will always remember…
As we were ordering our food, my wife Sarah called me
back. I asked her,” So, how is our
little guy doing?” She chuckled
just a little, as to try to be strong, and then asked, “Are you ready for
this?” I said, “What?” There was silence on the other end of
the phone and I could tell that she was crying. It was eerie how much this experience reminded me of the
time when I was in Maryland and my wife told me, in regards to our eldest son,
Zachary, that “The doctors say we should consider looking into Autism.” As I braced myself for what my wife was
about to tell me. Never in my
whole life did I ever think that I would hear her say, “worst case scenario, he
could have leukemia. But that it
might also be what is called I.T.P.”
I was strong as I visited with my wife until I was about to hang-up with
her. That’s when I lost it. I was standing out side the “Jolley
Trolley” and “Serious Cookie” stores and just bawled my eyes out. I texted Doug Perry who was inside the
restaurant and told him that my son was not doing very well and that if he
wouldn’t mind ordering my food to go.
I said that I didn’t want to ruin the fun that they were having in
there. He asked if there was
anything that he could do, and I just asked him to bring out my jacket, as it
was quite cold out tonight. He did
and I relayed to him what was going on.
I texted Les Brown and told him that I needed to talk to him tonight;
that my son my have leukemia. I
also called my dear friend, James Smith and told him what was going on. He said that what he was going to say
may sound weird, but he said, “you know how you’ve been praying to become a
speaker, well, now you definitely have something to talk about…” I said, “I definitely have a
message.” I also called my Mother
who let me know that at one time, they thought that my brother Scott had
Leukemia. I asked her to get his
name into as many LDS Temples as were possible. She agreed to do that.
She told me to be strong and that Corbin was a strong little boy. She’s the one who organized the little
blessing, which I would like to detail at this time:
My wife called me back and my family was about to give
Corbin the blessing. I asked those
gathered if I could offer a prayer, as to feel like I had some part in an event
that is life-changing. I offered
up one of the most honest and sincere prayers of my life, humbling myself below
the dust of the earth. Pleading
for the mercy of a loving Heavenly Father to be upon the head of my little
child. I said that I knew that
miracles still take place in our day, but like all miracles, they require
immense faith. I let Heavenly
Father know that we were gathered together to manifest our faith in His ability
to heal our little Corbin. We will
be fasting for him this coming fast Sunday. After the prayer was over, I tried to record the words of
the blessing with my little recorder, but the battery was too low. This is how I remember it going down:
My older brother, Michael, anointed my son’s head with Holy
oil that has been dedicated, consecrated and set-apart for the healing of the
sick, through the household of faith.
Immediately following the anointing of my child, a very humble and proud
grandfather, Alan Ralph Osmond, my father, holding his little name’s sake in
his arms, proceeded to give Corbin Alan Osmond a blessing. In the blessing he asked for many
things including blessings to be upon the doctors that study him and his condition. That they might be inspired and guided
to do the things that would be most beneficial to our little boy. He talked about the faith of those
present; that we were uniting our faith and calling upon the blessings of
Heaven to be upon Corbin. The part
that stands out most to me is when Father said, “And we don’t ask for these
things timidly, but with
faith.” Everyone was crying,
including me over the phone. As I
said “amen,” it was as if I were looking my Savior in the face and handing over
the fate of my little boy to him.
I can’t help but reflect upon the many stories of healing that are told
throughout the Bible. As the
father says to the Lord, yeah, Lord I believe. He then realizes what little faith he truly did
possess. I, like that father of
old, felt much the same way tonight as his words ring through my ears, “Help
thou mine unbelief.” It is in
times like these that our faith is truly tested. It is one thing to give a listening ear or a word of comfort
to one going through a similar situation.
It is another to be the one in the arena. I have truly been humbled this evening and rededicate my
life to the Lord and to His work here upon the earth. I am so far from perfection that it is scary. I have a lot of catching up to do and I
will dedicate my life to being the best husband and father that I can be. I know that God is closer than we could
ever begin to imagine and that He is waiting to bless those who ask. I pray that I may be worthy to raise
the special little ones that he has sent to me. Before I hung-up with my family tonight, I reminded them
that, “we don’t know who our little ones are,” that they are very special
spirits. Father added, that it’s
the really special ones that are given tests like these. We are so blessed as parents, and as we
lie down tonight, we lie down unto the Lord, praying that he will hear our
prayers and grant us the miracle that we desire.
“With all the sincerity of a loving parent,” (how I worded
it in my prayer tonight).
Nathan George Osmond
3 Nephi 5:13
The Healing of Corbin Alan Osmond
February 1, 2007
Today I was so sick, but did my best to be able to
sing. I drank hot lemon with honey
and woke-up extra early. Last
night was such a weird night. It
seemed to drag on and on and my mind was in a million different places thinking
about a million different things.
I felt rested, but I was not well.
As I sang my second song at the seminar, “God Bless The U.S.A.,” I made
it to the second chorus, when my voice cracked. It did not recover throughout the rest of the song. The audience was kind enough to cheer
me on and sang along. It meant a
lot. I kept calling Sarah, but her
mom kept answering her phone. They
had to be up at Primary Children’s Medical Center today at 8:30 to meet with a
hematologist to do further blood tests on our little Corbin. They call it a waiting room for a
reason, because it seemed like we waited forever to get the message that we
were praying for. The doctors,
nurses and everyone that checked his blood tests out came to the conclusion
that he does not have Leukemia!!! When I heard this, my heart was filled
with joy and I cried with relief.
My eyes have been watery throughout the entire day. They did say that he has what is
called, I.T.P., which is treatable. The lesser of the two evils. The doctors
were very excited to report that overnight his platelet levels had jumped up
from 15,000 to 26,000 on their own.
This is without question an answer to our prayers and the priesthood
blessing that he received from his grandfather and uncles last night. His levels should be at 150,000, but
the fact that they jumped up 11,000 over night is a sign that his body is
recognizing the problem and is beginning to heal itself. To me it is proof that God is not dead. That He still answers the prayers of
those who believe, and I believe!!!
We are required to take him into the doctor’s office every week until
his platelet levels rise above 50,000.
We are to make sure that he doesn’t cut himself or bangs his head, as
this could prove to be detrimental.
We have removed all of the chairs around our kitchen table, which Corbin
absolutely loves to climb, in order to prevent any further accidents. We are holding a special fast this
Sunday for him and there has been an outpouring of love from all of our friends
and family members who have sent e-mails saying that they will be remembering
our little Corbin in their fasts this Sunday. There are many different congregations of different faiths
that also have included Corbin’s name on their prayer roles. I have Corbin’s, Zachary’s, Sarah’s and
my names on the prayer roles of all 11 temples in Utah, as well as on the
prayer roles of the two temples in Hawaii, The Los Angeles Temple and the Mesa,
AZ temple. I would have continued,
but Sarah cut me off there. I know
that there is strength in numbers and I know that the Lord has already blessed
us immensely. I am on my way back
to Utah right now and have taken off the next three shows. I have also told my bosses that I would
like to find a way for me to have at least one week off a month, in order to
spend more time with my family.
With a third child on the way, having a child with P.D.D.N.O.S. and
another with I.T.P., and trying to flip a short sale, all at the same time,
it’s an understatement to say that my wife Sarah is at the end of her
rope. This week has really opened
our eyes and has moved us to action to take some necessary steps towards a
better life. What good is it to
have all the riches in the world and to miss out on the lives of our little
boys? As the Bible puts it, “What
profiteth a man that he should gain the whole world and lose his own
soul?” I give my children gifts
almost each and every week when I get off the road, but it’s not my gifts they
want, what they really want is my presence. I am dedicated to finding a way to make this happen. I will forever be grateful to my loving
Heavenly Father for the blessings that he has bestowed upon the head of my
little Corbin this week and for the blessings that He continues to send to my
family and me. We are truly undeserving
and yet He continues to bless us.
“Are we not all beggars?”
Indeed we are. God be
praised for his matchless love!!!
∫February 7, 2007
Today I took Zachary to go see Charlotte’s Web, the movie and we were the only two people in the
theatre. While we were there, my
wife, Sarah, and my mother-in-law took Corbin to the pediatrician to test his
blood again to see if his platelet levels have gone up any since last
Wednesday, when we thought he might have Leukemia. When I got home from the movies, Sarah, Mom and Corbin were
at Target looking for an outfit for her cousin Holly’s new baby. They had already received news that Corbin’s
platelet levels were still at 26,000.
This was a little frustrating to me. I was at least glad to hear that they hadn’t gone down any,
but yet at the same time, they hadn’t gone up any. I thanked my Heavenly Father for the news and asked Him to continue
to bless our little boy Corbin, as it sounds like it could be a long recovering
process. I do believe that
Heavenly Father will bless our son.
February 8, 2007
Today Sarah and I had a staff meeting with Lindsay, Lacey
and Steve from the Redwood Learning Center in regards to our son Zach’s
progression in the A.B.A. therapy, which he receives for his P.D.D.N.O.S.. It was a great meeting and our son is
improving every single day. He is
so smart. I took Sarah out and we
ran a bunch of errands to try and flip the Lehi investment home that we
purchased on the 28th of December, 2006. Sarah has been really stressed-out with everything that has
been going on this past week, and so I took 3 shows off to just come home and
help her out with this house. I
took her out to eat at Asian Buffet in American Fork and we pigged out!!! After coming home and getting
everything ready to go to L.A. tonight, Sarah and the boys climbed into the
mini van to take me up to the airport.
It was hard to say good-bye to them, as both of my sons were
crying. Zach was crying, mainly
because he wanted to go on the airplane.
He kept saying, “Zach’s airplane!!!” Corbin was crying mainly because
his brother Zach was crying. I
promised them that I would bring them back a toy this week. As we were pulling out from the gate,
my cell phone rang. I was supposed
to have had it off by this time, but it’s a new phone, so I wasn’t sure how to
silence it. I answered it as a
quick-fix solution. The first
words that I told my wife were, “I can’t talk right now, babes.” Before I could say good-bye, she cut me
off and said, “I just have to tell you some good news I just got.” I said, “Okay…” She told me that Alpine
Pediatrics had just called her and said that they had made a mistake on the
reading of Corbin’s platelet count yesterday. They had originally told us that his count was still at
26,000, but that was incorrect information. His real count as of yesterday is 299,000!!! This is nothing short of a bonifide
miracle. My eyes started to
water-up right here on the airplane.
I was so excited to hear this news!!! I told my wife, “Now that was worth picking the phone up
for!!!” I told her that I would
call her as soon as I landed. I
hung-up the phone and bowed my head in a silent prayer of gratitude to my
Heavenly Father for blessing Corbin with such an awesome blessing. He has heard my prayers along with all
the prayers of his loved-ones, as well as the prayers of so many strangers that
have promised to remember him in their prayers. As his name, as well as the names of his brother and parents
have sat upon the alters of the temples, I know that Heavenly Father has shown
his awesome mercy upon us. We are
forever grateful and promise to raise our sons in the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is obvious that this has just been a
test of our faith and has served as a wake-up call. None of us knows when our time will end upon this earth and
we need to be ready always. As the
scripture says, “This life is the time for man to prepare to meet God.” I have a lot of changes to make in my
life and I pray that I may do what is necessary to be ready to meet my
maker. I love Him with all of my
heart and I pray that I may be the husband and father that my beautiful wife
and amazing children deserve. God
be praised forever more for the family that He has sent to me. I am truly a blessed man!!!
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