“I sped to the house and scooped up her purple lipped, shivering body, then dropped to the floor and set her on top of my chest. We had to be on our top game 24 hours a day because if we slacked, she’d die. Discussions of death were as common as, ‘Hey, I emptied the dishwasher.’”
“It took every fiber of my being not to scream when it started, not to break down. They messed up and didn’t get everything. Other than my husband, no one knew.”
“Dizzy and still very much half-deaf, she insisted I see her doctor. ‘That can’t be MY brain.’ No one could agree on what was happening to my body. I felt cheated.”
“She asked, ‘Where’s my mommy?’ I was standing right beside her. She had a confused look, her pulse was RACING. I took Ayzlee to the ER thinking she was just dehydrated and needed fluids. ‘This will be a quick trip.’ We’d all had our flu shots. Never in a million years did I think my beautiful, healthy 3-year-old would be fighting for her life.”
“The minute I left, I immediately felt eyes on the back of my head. Trust me, they weren’t admiring my beauty. I felt exposed.”
“I have 5 kids across three grade levels, K-2, and a 1-year-old. And yes, I chose to have 6 children. But I didn’t choose a pandemic. Nobody did. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what the better crappy option is. Because they’re all crappy options.”
“Your growth would probably be slower than other babies. You might have trouble walking or talking or eating or going to school. We wouldn’t know until we knew. One thing we knew: you are scrappy as hell.”
“I scrolled her page. My tears kept falling.”
“Every year, we go back to try to find it – that peace from this horrible grief. Except this year, they were closed. Just that night. To sanitize.”
“There’s a ton of people complaining about opening the schools too soon, but have you sat and thought about the kid who is being neglected? They’re wishing for an escape, a meal, a friend.”
