What's In A Name?

The other day I was browsing the website Not On The High Street and I saw one of those framed photos of a name and its meaning. It was for the name William. When we were choosing potential baby names we didn't really pay much attention to their meaning and so until now, I hadn't known that the name William means valiant protector.

I thought this was rather apt for our little boy.  After all, if it had not been for William, I would never have known about the tumour growing in my neck. And if it had not been for William, my Dad might never have had a minor heart attack and then found out about the serious blockages in his heart.

It's hard to see any "positive" side to all that we have been through in the past four months but I have to be thankful for this. Left in me, my tumour would have continued to grow and had the potential to become cancerous.  The arteries in my Dad's heart were badly blocked and eventually it would have caused a massive heart attack had he not had this early warning and had them treated with stents. As his surgeon said, he is "lucky not to be dead".

And so I am grateful to my little boy for protecting both me and my Dad. William is truly deserving of his name.