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SALT LAKE CITY — My dislike for winter had never been a secret. I hated it. The cold. The dirty snow covering everything in sight. The slush seeping through my shoes. The darker days. The cold.
Looking back, I think I experienced a touch of seasonal affective disorder. Of course, that is only a self-diagnosis, but I believe my husband would agree with me. As the winter months stretched, his suggestions of a weekend trip to St. George became pleas.
Then my life changed.
Two years ago, my then 3-year-old son started getting sick — as in, every four to five weeks he was ill. From the late fall, through the entire winter and into the early spring, that kid was sick with influenza, colds, ear infections and croup. It got to the point where I started keeping track of when he was sick in order to prove to myself that I was not exaggerating just how often his illnesses occurred.
Between washing sheets, filling up the humidifier and buying more Tylenol, I started wondering if my little boy's never-ending poor health was normal. I have always had a healthy imagination. My child being sick all the time made it easy for me to imagine that something else more sinister was at the root of all his problems. Did he have cancer? Was his constantly sick body eating itself out from the inside? Did he have some other, lesser-known, incurable disease? Would that condition eventually be named after him?
"Vitamin D is found in many dietary sources, such as fish, eggs, fortified milk, and cod liver oil. The sun also contributes significantly to the daily production of vitamin D ...
"The major biologic function of vitamin D is to maintain normal blood levels of calcium and phosphorus. Vitamin D aids in the absorption of calcium, helping to form and maintain strong bones."
I do not know what took me so long, but I finally took him to the pediatrician. Before our scheduled appointment I underwent a great deal of internal soldiering. I was certain we were embarking on a future of expensive tests, hospitals and difficult to pronounce prognoses. I told myself that I had nerves of steel, that whatever the doctor declared to be the matter with my little boy, I could and would be brave.
After she listened to me rant about his terrible symptoms and gave him a thorough examination, the pediatrician made an anticlimactic, albeit simple, suggestion, "Why not try giving him extra vitamin D? Even in the summer most people in Utah are deficient."
When I left the doctor's office I was unsure how I felt. Had all my fears been unfounded? Had I panicked for nothing? Or was that woman grossly inept at seeing what my little boy's true health problems were? I decided to try her vitamin D suggestion. I figured when it was unsuccessful I would march back into her office and demand she subject my child to a battery of tests. I would laugh at how simple she had assumed the solution was.
Except, I never had cause to return to her office because the vitamin D worked.
I started giving it to him in the summer and never looked back. It helped my son so much I decided I would try it myself. After a few months of taking it, a miracle occurred: I did not hate winter anymore. When the darkest, coldest and most dismal day came around, I would retaliate by putting on my coat, boots and genuine smile.
I still prefer the summer and its extra sunshine and warmth, but I now live happily during the colder months as well. My son rarely gets sick, and we make sure to always have a supply of vitamin D.
Elizabeth Reid has bachelor's degrees in economics and history. She has worked in retail, medical billing, catering, education and business fields. Her favorite occupation is that of wife and mother. She blogs at www.gelatoandchocolate.blogspot.com.
