The local family has great reason to be grateful | News, sports, jobs

Submitted photo The Pellenwessel family consists of David, who holds Brenna and Cali on his back, and Addi.

Our oldest daughter, Addi, was born four days before Thanksgiving in 2022. We had many ideas about what our first big vacation with our newborn would look like, but our plans quickly changed when we experienced a traumatic birth and our daughter was quickly flown to Sanford NICU in West Fargo. It wasn’t the Thanksgiving we had planned, but it was definitely a memorable one.

Some of our family members drove to Fargo for a few days and we had Thanksgiving lunch in their suite-style hotel room. We spent the rest of our day in the NICU and late night eating Thanksgiving leftovers from the communal kitchen at the Ronald McDonald House where we were staying. There didn’t seem to be much “thankful” for this day, but today it definitely exists!

Our now two-year-old child is healthy and well thanks to the power of prayer and incredible medical teams, and we have a new appreciation for cozy vacations at home and with our loved ones.