“I was hiding this secret. ‘Don’t you want the best care for your baby?’ Of course we did. As we approached our assigned room, there was a plaque outside the door. The name of the family who donated the funds for that room? The McAngel family. We knew my Poppy would get her through this.”
‘Staring into my Poppy’s eyes, I asked him to pick a baby for us when he got to heaven. I kissed his cheek and whispered in his ear, ‘make it a girl.’
‘I just got shot, I just got shot, I…got…shot.’ Trapped under a pile of squirming, scared bodies, I lay helplessly on the cold rooftop floor, blood inching toward my face. It wasn’t my blood.’
“I stared at a man next to me gasping for breath. A frantic woman gave him mouth-to-mouth through his blood-covered face, desperate to save him. He was alone. No one knew who he was. As the paramedics lifted me onto a stretcher and carried me down the stairs, I saw them cover his body.”
‘A boy told me I shouldn’t wear shirts that show my scars. He said they are scary. I just want to be normal,’ she sobbed.’
“On a rushed morning, I threw her a tank top and asked her to get dressed. She quietly asked me for a different shirt. Oblivious and in a hurry, I said, ‘Why? You love that one. Just put it on, we gotta go.’ Tears formed in her eyes.”
‘I heard my name. ‘Are you Suzanne?’ A woman approached me. I was confused, even scared I had done something wrong. ‘Yes?,’ I said nervously.’
“He cried for what felt like 24 straight hours. He felt like an idiot for believing. I didn’t have all the answers. I didn’t really have any.”
‘I had no one to call. This was a pain even greater than getting shot. Yes, you read right. Right in the in the head with a .45 bullet. WORSE THAN THAT.’
“I’ll never forget looking down at my trembling hands. The blood was warm like bath water as it flooded my fingers. I could faintly hear my friends repeating, ‘Stay with us, stay with us.’”
‘The first thing he wrote down was, ‘Was it my fault?’ I ran out of the room to get his mom. We all took a deep breath.’
“His coworker saw one of their work trucks in a bad accident on the highway. My heart started to race, and I frantically continued to call Brian over and over again. Still no answer.”
‘I lost 100 pounds in less 8 months. I was sick. I had gotten down to eating only one orange a day. Then I gained it all back. I got the phone call that changed my life. My mother had died.’
“We have unexpectedly adopted 2 newborn babies and moved our youngest boy’s biological brother in with us for an undetermined amount of time. Being a working mom of 5 boys really takes a toll on my workout routine and takes a LOT of juggling.”
‘In the coldest bedside manner, he said, ‘It is extremely rare and there is no cure. IF she lives, she will stop mentally developing at 2 months old.’ I just stared at him, my body slowly over heating.’
“I could feel the nausea setting in. I could feel the walls closing in on me. I could feel Bobby fuming. I told him get me out of there. I was BORN to be her mom. She is here to prove everyone wrong.”
‘I went to the appointment, and my life changed. Was I about to die? No, I can’t. I’m not ready! This doesn’t run in my family, and I live a healthy lifestyle.’
“My aunt and grandma went with me to talk to my doctor to try to get further understanding, but to be honest, I didn’t hear a thing she said. My doctor was in tears because she couldn’t understand either.”
‘Who is this,’ I asked. ‘This is Ty’s assistant principal. I just came upon a car accident on my way home. It’s Ty, and he is not good.’ Wait, what?
“I told him I would let him know when I was home from school, so he could come pick me up. Little did I know when I made that phone call, the details I heard on the other end would change our lives forever. Nothing would ever, ever be the same.”
