I will NEVER forget the night that changed the way I look at my children, motherhood and more importantly life in general. I will never forget those few short minutes that felt like an eternity.
“Please just take a breath.”
“Come on little guy, please just take a breath.”
“Oh please God do not let this little boy die. I cannot be here if this little boy dies.”
We had just spent our first fabulous day at Disneyland. My little people were in absolute heaven running from ride to ride. I beamed with pride at my little 6 year old who had overcome so many of his fears since the last time we had visited. My 2 year old was fascinated by all the awesomness his eyes were taking in. It had been a good day as a family. The weather was beautiful and I had reveled in the happiness of being with the people I love most and watching them smile. I just knew that this vacation was going to be a good one.
We called it a night before the park closed, as we still had a few more days to spend at the park and my boys really wanted to swim in the magical pool that “changed colors” As we walked back to the hotel room we were discussing what we should do for dinner. The “plan” was to get pizza that night and then take a dip in the pool. The perfect ending to the day. But that is where the ending we had foreseen ends and a new one unfolded to us.
When we got back to the hotel room my husband just kept playing on his phone. Then he started telling us all the other things we could eat instead of pizza. By this time I was done. The kids were starving and whining about wanting to go to the pool. I could not for the life of me figure out why all the sudden the “plan” had changed. Finally, he said he was walking down the street to Subway to grab some sandwiches. He came back with the food and the kiddos scarfed it down and ran to get on their swimming suits and then we headed down to the pool.
It had cooled down a lot and it was a little too chilly to swim in the pool but the Jacuzzi was perfect. Not to hot for the little people and a good temp for the adults. The hot tub was huge so there was 2 other families enjoying it also. We got talking with the one family. They were from Wyoming and were here on vacation with their 6 boys. Ranging in ages from 13 to 2. Darling family. We just got talking to them about the usual getting to know you stuff. They had boys the same age as my boys so they were all playing and having a good time. A few of the boys decided they wanted to brave the big pool so my husband took my 2 year old and 6 year old over and their older boys went too. As we sat there talking and watching the kids play the mom suddenly pulled a little lifeless body up out of the water. She looked at her husband and said so calm” He drowned. Then with some hysteria creeping up she shrilled “HELP, I think he drowned” I looked over in this moment to a limp, lifeless, gray in color little boy.
Suddenly everything was in slow motion. Time has never moved so slow.
The dad gently took the boy out of the moms arms and laid him down on the concrete. My husband instantly ran to the front desk to have them call 911. The dad started CPR right away. I don’t think he even really knew CPR but he started breathing air into the boys lungs. It was like instinct kicked in and he just did what he felt he should. Big deep breaths going in. I will never forget the sound you would hear as the air went in to his water filled lungs. The air would go in and a horrible gurgling sound would rattle his chest as the water came up. We would flip him to his side and let all the water come out. Another breath of life would go in and more gurgling as the water came out. I held on to his lifeless hand just pleading and praying.
“Please just take a breath.”
“Come on little guy, please just take a breath.”
“Oh please God do not let this little boy die. I cannot be here if this little boy dies.”
More breaths. More water coming up. Nothing. More breaths. More water coming up and nothing. More breaths and nothing. One more breath and his eyes rolled around in his head. His body still limp but there were signs of life. One more breath and he started to breath small weak breaths. He was still gray in color. He was still like a limp noodle but he was breathing on his own. We wrapped him in towels and moved him onto a table. His dad just kept talking to him. Asking him his name over and over. The little boy didn’t talk but just moaned like he was in pain. The ambulance came and the dad and boy were taken to the hospital. He made a full recovery with no signs of what happened. Nothing short of a miracle!
Some of you might wonder how the parents didn’t see him go under. To you I say how did all 5 adults sitting in the hot tub miss it? It doesn’t take 10 minutes for life to change. It takes an instant. In those moments it changed the way I look at motherhood. It made me stop and celebrate the small things. It opened my eyes to the devastation that a mother can feel and the hole in her heart that can never heal completely.
Today I am thankful for the lesson that time is precious. I am thankful for my children, their lives and that I get to enjoy whatever time Heavenly Father will give me with them. Today I celebrate motherhood in a whole new light. Celebrating each day as the gift that it is.
What small things do you celebrate and cherish?
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