Submitted Photo
The Pellenwessel family are David holding Brenna and Cali, back, and Addi.
Our oldest daughter, Addi, was born four days before Thanksgiving in 2022. We had a lot of ideas about what our first big holiday with our newborn would look like, but our plans changed rapidly when we experienced a traumatic birth and our daughter was quickly flown to the Sanford NICU in West Fargo. While it wasn’t the Thanksgiving we had planned, it certainly became a memorable one.
Some of our family drove down to Fargo for a couple of days, and we ate Thanksgiving lunch in their suite-style hotel room. We spent the rest of our day in the NICU and ate late-night Thanksgiving leftovers out of the community kitchen in the Ronald McDonald House, where we were staying. There didn’t seem to be a lot to be “thankful” for that day, but there sure is today!
Our now two year old is healthy and thriving, thanks to the power of prayer and incredible medical teams, and we have a renewed appreciation for cozy holidays at home and with loved ones.