Lucy, Archangel Raphael and the Potato.

Lucy has a cold. It’s one of those mucous filled, hacking cough kinds. It didn’t seem to bother her too much during the day yesterday but last night…she was really struggling. The coughing kept her from getting comfortable and while she coughed and flopped around, I tried to figure out what I could do to make her feel better.

She’s only 8 months old so there aren’t really any medications she can take. I had put a little Vick’s Vaporub on her chest and then read that it can actually cause mucous formation so I wiped it off and decided that it was just going to be a very long night and I would have to do whatever I could to make her as comfortable as possible.

In the back of my mind I recalled reading about how putting a slice of potato against your feet while you slept would help with cold symptoms. I figured it was worth a try. I cut a couple of thin slices and put the damp, cold potato pieces against her little baby feet, much to her irritation, and covered them up with some socks. 

The hacking continued for a bit and then it stopped and she slept…soundly for a good three hours or so. Around 1 am, the hacking started up again, along with crying. I checked the potato slices and one was quite black, the other one only slightly darkened. I took them both out figuring that they had done their job.
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She was so tired but every time she tried to get comfortable, she would start to cough. At one point, she was coughing so much it caused her to throw up. My poor baby. I tried some cupping on her back, I had her head propped and then I put her on an angle with her head down but nothing worked. It was the middle of the night and I didn’t want to wake everyone else up but there was nothing I could do to quiet her down.

An hour later, beyond tired myself, I headed downstairs for some new slices of potato. Two new pieces were fitted into her socks and back to bed we went. I tried to nurse her in between her coughs, afraid that it had just been luck earlier that night. I closed my eyes and called on Archangel Raphael. He is the angel of healing and although I hadn’t thought to call on him before I figured it wouldn’t hurt.

Archangel Raphael’s name means “God heals” and you can call on him whenever you need guidance, healing or protection. It doesn’t just have to be when a major illness hits, angels are there for us whenever we need them and I figured my baby needed all the help she could get.

As I prayed, I held my hands over her chest and surrounded her with healing Reiki energy. Archangel Raphael is associated with healing emerald light and since Lucy had a congested chest in her heart chakra area, green was the perfect colour to surround her with. I also moved my hands along her body in a sweeping motion towards her feet and in my mind’s eye, I saw the sickness moving through her and out through her feet.

​It is best to not tell the angels how you need them to help you but to trust that they know what is best. Sometimes guidance comes by way of connecting to you through your intuition which is what may have brought potatoes to my mind in the first place. Don’t ever feel that you are being a bother or that your concern is not important enough. You are so valuable and loved that any need you have, if it is from your heart and asked in love will be addressed. You need to be open to what the angels have in store for you though and try not to be driven by your ego.

Lucy continued to cough. I thought I wouldn’t get any sleep and that I would be a zombie the next day. After a few more cough attacks she lay still and seemed to breathe freely as she slept. I put her down and her eyes remained closed. I cautiously settled in and closed my own eyes but didn't allow myself to relax. Instead, I remained on the verge of sleep, prepared to pick her up again just in case. Before I knew it, I had dozed off. Lucy ended up sleeping until the morning and only woke slightly to let me know she was hungry. She slept afterward until 8 am and then popped up with a smile ready to begin the day.
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​I had already expressed my gratitude that night, as is the right thing to do when asking for help. In the morning, after having gotten in a good night’s sleep despite the two-hour interruption mid way, I said thank you again. I was thankful for Lucy getting some sleep and having a reprieve from her cough. I appreciated the idea of the potato and the fact that it seemed to help. I was happy that I thought to ask for help from the angels and trusted that Lucy was protected and loved and even though she was sick, I knew that there were more than just my arms surrounding her last night.