Everyday Heroes

As a society, I often think we have misplaced who the real heroes in our lives. For me, I am so thankful for those people who do their job consistently, regardless of the credit or attention they receive for these things. They are not superstars or important government officials, they are our families, our neighbors, co-workers, friends, doctors, the lady that works at the post office. I reflected a lot about this during the past week in MS.

Last week, we had a marathon week...renewing vehicle registration/tags, eye dr., dental, orthopedic and well visit appointments! First off, I am so thankful for Johnny who came with me. At times he was dropping me off at one place and taking care of another task somewhere else. In addition, I had my friend Kathy on backup who was more than willing to do these mundane tasks as well.

All of this reflective thinking really hit me when Jackson asked me to tell him about when he was a sick baby literally fighting for his little life. As I was telling him the story, I was hit with so many emotions. I remember calling the pediatric clinic after being home a few days suggesting I needed to move our 2 week appt. up. The lady on the phone was very dismissive and just suggested he was spitting up. Even though I explained we were draping full sized towels on us and he was struggling for hours to eat. I finally just reasoned I may be overreacting and continued to wonder if something was wrong with our precious newborn, Jackson. Unfortunately, that lady didn't make the hero list in this story. Fast forward and when he was 11 days old (Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2010) I saw it--sagging skin on his little thighs that would indicate he had lost weight (even though I had stood holding him on a scale and subtracting my weight on multiple occasions.) At this point, I was determined I was going to demand to come in. Thankfully, the lady was very kind and promptly made me an appt.

Insert the hero. Dr. Nikki Ivancic could see immediately that something was wrong and spent a long time checking him out. Do you ever wonder why you may have to wait so long--that day, it was because of my child who was fighting for his life! Why do I say she is an everyday hero? Once we made it to the local hospital and they ran a battery of tests, she was still there. She stayed well after her rounds/obligations were over. As we were returning to the room a sweet nurse let me know that she had been waiting a couple of hours to hear the results. I often wonder if her choice to do this saved his life. Within an hour, he would stop breathing and be put on a machine as he took his flight to LeBonheur. I have often wondered what would have happened had she not stayed late? She was perfectly within her right to go home when her routine tasks were over. She could have gotten the results in the morning, right? Instead, she stayed. She sat on the hospital bed right beside us until my sweet baby left in the helicopter. For that, she is one of our everyday heroes. She even called while we were at LeBonheur to check on him.

Telling the story in the car to the boys, created such a feeling of gratitude for her and so many others in our lives. As the tears fell from my cheeks, I pointed out how so many people in our everyday lives are so important. I was once again reminded how important it is to let those around you know how important they are to you. Teachers, a person who always offers an encouraging word, an employee who always goes the extra mile, your mom/dad...tell them! Let them know how grateful you are for their influence!

Live A Meaningful Life!