“He shows his scar to everyone. Sometimes he will say, ‘I saved Mommy from a great white shark, look, guys!’ Other times, he just tells people, ‘I had heart surgery!’ The first question immediately is always, ‘Did it hurt, Finn!?’ He just sweetly replies no and then wants to play. He lived. We all did.”
“I looked like a pretzel, but my mom wasn’t able to hold me for hours. Doctors started discussing ‘options.’ They told her I wouldn’t be able to do much. They said I would be better off if my parents decided to sign me over to the state. My mom immediately asked to be transferred.”
“Just 2 days before, we were laughing and making plans for summer. He was excited about his stimulus check because he wanted to buy the grandkids something nice, and a portable oxygen machine so he could travel to visit us. It was always his dream to come here and see the ocean for the first time. He spoke of it every day. Now, I had to tell my children their Pap, their best friend, was gone.”
“Don’t talk about health care heroes right now, post a few memes, then in a few more months go back to trashing the profession. Remember who you leaned on in times of crisis. Remember who showed up, even as their colleagues were dying.”
“I could tell they were having a heated conversation. I took the boys to the backyard and waited. His hands were shaky as he called her mom and said she had to come to pick her up. I was so frustrated. Here he was, telling his daughter she has to go home before she even gets out of the car.”
“You got out of bed this morning. You fed your children and took care of your responsibilities. Maybe you took a shower and got yourself ready. That’s courage, mama. You were chosen for this moment, for such a time as this.”
“Maybe your stepkids are with you right now. Maybe they’re with their mom and she would prefer not to send them back to you. When everything calms down, if you feel you’re entitled to ‘make up time’ or you’ve overpaid child support to help your ex through tough times, you can address it then.”
“I set the girls’ folders next to folders with their friends’ names — friends they haven’t seen in weeks. I finally let some tears fall over the loss of this. For them. For their teachers. For this school I love so much.”
“He snored like a little truck and had horrible sleep. He would always fall asleep in the early afternoons. Till one day I said to a doctor, ‘I’m not leaving here until you give me a referral to see a specialist.’ My gut was right.”
“I am a frontline worker for the hospital. This is how I will see my partner, my daughter, and my two sons for the next few months, through a window for a few minutes a day. This has been the hardest decision I have ever had to make.”
