I just texted my dear friend who lives across the country because I remembered. It’s one of those times where I had skillfully tucked away a time I wish had never happened but as soon as I read my own words this morning, it all came back.
Back in 2004, I was laid up on the couch, shaking uncontrollably with a 105-degree temperature suffering from mastitis as well as a severe prolapse where I was barely able to walk, trying to nurse my then two-week-old who had just gotten out of the NICU and who was hooked up to oxygen. My 3-year-old sat next to me, tugging and begging for another book to be read to her; and then the call came. My mom who had just taken my 16-month-old to the pediatrician (that’s how sick I was, I couldn’t even take my own son to the doctor) frantically uttered out the words, “Elayne, come down here right now, we are being sent to a pediatric cardiologist.”
Well despite my feeling that l I was laying on my own deathbed, you have never seen someone move so fast in your life. Even at our sickest, moms have a way of mustering up every ounce of energy and they do whatever it takes in a moment of crisis. I got myself up off that couch, called my dear friend, Carrie, to see if she could take my 3-year-old so we could drive across town to get to the specialist.
We were able to get my middle son to the cardiologist in enough time for tests to be run and to be told that this is a life and death situation with his aortic artery about to burst (i.e. aneurysm) and needs to be admitted to the hospital straight away. He was placed in a bubble and over days was miraculously given the right meds to convince his body to stop attacking itself which calmed the bulging artery in his heart enough so that it didn’t burst and kill him on the spot.
On top of this crisis, we ran out of oxygen for my 2-week-old while at the hospital, I couldn’t see a thing because I hadn’t put contacts in when we frantically left for the hospital and the list really went on and on. Did I mention my husband was also out of town at the time too! I can’t imagine what would have happened had my mom not been there that day to even take my son to the doctor.
During this crisis, my friend, who had 3 children of her own, almost identical in age, swooped in like Superman and dropped everything to watch our 3 year old daughter. There were few words spoken between us those couple of days. But she did something I have never forgotten. She taught me this lesson nearly 15 years ago that I write about in today’s COSMB post. I hope these words in this post mean something to you and you drop them from your vocabulary and do what my friend did for me all those years ago because I truly have never forgotten. She was an angel on earth to me that day.
Much Love,
Elayne
sharing life love and food 
Elayne, I did what any friend would have done. You have saved me countless times, especially when we were moving! You kept my kids for days and helped me run a last minute garage sale. I do remember that morning though. I think I was cleaning my bathroom at the time I got your call. Anyway, I ran to my bathroom to get dressed. In a mad dash, I grabbed my toothbrush & vigorously start brushing my teeth. Then it hit me, I was brushing with my old toothbrush that I had used to clean my sink, blah, gag, ugh, spit, yuck! No time! I had to rinse & go! I would do it all again!
That is hysterical Carrie – you probably have never looked at a toothbrush again the same. No wonder that memory stands out, ha!