An Unexpected Connection

  The other night we had to take Lexi to back to the Emergency Room. Her levels had dropped again and the home health company had been struggling to help resolve things at home earlier in the day. I was busy in some work meetings, so when I got the call from Lexi that things were rough. I had a little panic in my heart. I knew after we were discharged just a week earlier that we would be back if things did not get addressed, and sure enough here we were. 

    Her dad took her to the ER and I showed up after they had already been in the ER for a while, and we swapped places. The usual scans and tests were done and then we played the waiting game. While we were waiting I left the room to go grab some food from the cafeteria and called Lexi's mom to let her know the latest updates. On the way back from the cafeteria Lexi asked if I would stop at the Starbucks that is in the hospital to get her a drink.

    As I was standing in line I noticed a group of 4 kids standing in front of me, and I wondered for a second where their parents were. Then it clicked that the parents were probably busy visiting someone and the kids just needed to grab a snack real quick. I just kind of watched as the sisters were being great caretakers for their baby brother, and the older boy took the lead on getting orders from everyone. As they started to order I felt prompted to pay for the kids drinks and what they were buying. The cashier gave them the total and the older boy reached out to give her a bill. I walked up and said, "I'll take care of it" and the cashier seemed surprised. "Are you sure?" she asked and I replied that I was happy to. 

    The kids all turned and looked up at me. They all thanked me and I told them it was not a problem. I quickly asked if they were here visiting someone and the girl answered, "Yeah, my dad". I paid for their drinks real quick and they went and sat down to wait for their order. I ordered Lexi's drink real quick, and then turned around and walked to the group of kids and sat down right next to them. They were a little quiet at first, which I understand. First this random guy pays for our drinks, and now he is sitting with us. 

    I started to ask the older boy how long they had been here visiting their dad. He quickly responded by saying that he is just their older cousin, and so he was here to see his uncle. I got to know his name real quick and found out he's a football player at one of the High Schools nearby, and he is going into his junior year. He then turned and introduced me to his little cousins. The oldest girl was 13, and already a very responsible soul. You could tell just from how she spoke and looked at her little brother and sister. The other sister was 8 and their baby brother was maybe 2 or 3. 

    I asked the older sister how long her dad had been here, and she started to get a little teary eyed. The cousin spoke up and said that the dad had just had a major artery to his heart burst, and he has gone brain dead. They weren't expecting him to be around much longer unfortunately, and my heart broke for them. Clearly this was a young family, and to lose a dad at such an early age would be crushing. He then went on to say that he worried for the younger two because they really could not comprehend the situation, and they weren't sure how they would react going forward. We switched the topic and I asked the older girl how she liked school and she talked very happily about how she was ready to go to Jr. High because she was sick of elementary school. We all had a good little laugh real quick. 

    Then the little toddler started to wander off with a big smile on his face. I turned to watch him run off, when I saw a lady not too far away standing with her arms out. The cousin then went on to tell me that was the mom of the family, and she had been crying all day long. She gave the kids some money to go grab a snack just so that she could get some time for herself. She then picked the little boy up and walked back towards the elevators that go to the patient rooms. When I turned back around, the little girl had started to tear up again, and her cousin put his hand on her shoulder and said, "It's ok, you don't need to cry right now." She wiped away her tears and nodded her head at her cousin. Not long after they called the names for the kids to get their drinks. They got up, grabbed their drink and instead of walking back to the room they came to sit back by me. Before they could get comfortable they called my name, and the little girl did not even hesitate. She got right back up from her seat and raced to grab the drink for me. 

    I thanked her when she returned for grabbing the drink for me and we kept chatting for a minute. They shared that the 8 year old had just been baptized and she was so happy about it. Then two days later, their dad got admitted for his health struggle. They were a good group of kids and very respectful. Even called me "Sir" at times. That made me giggle a little because I am not that much older than them right?! 

    I could sense that we were running out of things to say, so I started to prepare to say goodbye to them. I then remembered something else that happened earlier in the week. Lexi and I had accidentally withdrawn too much cash at an ATM a couple of days earlier, so we drove to the bank to deposit the extra money we didn't need. Instead of depositing all of it, I kept a $20 bill, and Lexi asked me why. I said I wasn't sure why, but just felt like I should hold on to it. I hurried and grabbed my wallet out of my pocket and grabbed the $20. As we were saying our goodbyes, I handed the money to the cousin, and said, "Give this to your Aunt for the next time you guys need treats." The little 13year old girl looked up at me, said thank you, and then really started to cry. She wouldn't stop saying thank you, so I just looked at her and told her that I was happy to do it because I know how scary it is to be in a hospital all the time. She kind of nodded her head, and then I said, "It was nice to meet you guys". They said the same back, and then I turned and looked at the girl and said, "I will be praying for your dad." She smiled and we walked our separate ways. 

    As I walked back to the ER I couldn't help but feel an immense amount of gratitude for the situation I was in. Sometimes it is easy to forget that others are going through hard things as well, especially when your own life seems like a whirlwind of trials. Meeting those kids brought me back down to earth and helped me gain a new appreciation for MY LIFE. Yes, what Lexi is going through physically is extremely difficult to deal with, but at least she is not brain dead. At least her heart is still functioning correctly. At least I can still have a conversation with her even though she is not feeling good. At least she is capable of eating 4 bags of chips in a matter of seconds. 

    It was a humbling evening for me. Lexi ended up getting admitted again. What I gained from that experience is that God is very aware of all of his children. And sometimes it takes his children who are hurting to meet up in strange ways to share their pains, so they can share love with each other and find hope. That was a moment that I will cherish forever. I hope that I helped ease their pain a little that day too, because I know they definitely lifted me up and made my burdens lighter.