We sent this photo to our children.
Not quite midnight on Sunday.
Just a few hours before, all Hell broke loose.
I heard screaming.
My daughter.
Our bedroom was covered in a black liquid, the bed, floor, rug, furniture, walls.
I found my husband lying in the shower.
The liquid was blood and he was in and out of consciousness.
It. Was. Terrifying.
I called 911 and the operator was my best friend in that moment.
The Chowan County EMS folks found us upstairs and couldn’t have been kinder or more helpful.
I heard them discussing needing “the bird.”
And so, he was airlifted to Greenville, NC.
Our nanny rushed to the house so I could meet him there.
Friends came over to comfort worried and teary children.
Cleaned up our bedroom.
Managed to haul a beast of a rug down the stairs into the driveway.
Lots of tests.
A ruptured ulcer.
And now, we’re back home and worn out.
Aged maybe ten years.
But, in that moment, we smiled for our children.
Like the many who extended their unwavering support that scary evening, we offered our children a showing of hope and faith.
And a whole lotta love.