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!!!