When his face began to slowly turn blue and his tiny limbs went stiff, I thought I’d never see him alive again.  It started out to be a normal day; I was just beginning to fall asleep on the couch after dinner until I was sharply awoken to the horrifying shrieks of my sister who held her nearly lifeless two-week-old baby in her arms.  Terrified at the sight that was before my eyes, I panicked and started screaming uncontrollably.  My mom came running into the living room from the kitchen with my dad closely behind her.  “Call 911, now!” I heard my mother’s voice telling me what to do, but I could not move.  My dad dialed 911, and the dispatcher told him to flip Joel over on his stomach and pat in between his shoulders and he did; yet nothing was helping this horrible situation.

Time literally stopped, and I was frozen in this horrific moment.  It took the ambulance about ten minutes to get to my house.  Everything moved in slow motion as I stood in the middle of the living room with paramedics rushing around me to aid my nephew who was barely clinging on to life in his mother’s arms. After they ripped my baby nephew from my sister’s clutch and pushed her out of the way, I came out of my frozen daze just to see her fall to her knees and scream and cry.  The paramedics were doing everything they could to save his short life when everything took a dramatic change for the better.  A great feeling of comfort came over us when we heard him take a deep, long breath and cry as loudly as his little lungs would allow.  I will never forget that moment as I stood there shakily, thanking God for giving him another breath.

Even though what seemed to be the hardest part was over, we were in for a long journey.  We spent countless hours in numerous hospitals and numberless tests were conducted, trying to solve the problem.  At first, the doctors thought Joel had acid reflux disease; however, when treatments and medication weren’t helping, it was back to testing.  At one point he was diagnosed with SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) and was required to wear a monitor on his chest at all times that would alert us if he stopped breathing for more than five seconds.  Eventually, his breathing issues were halted.  Today Joel is a healthy four-year-old little boy.

I think of those long and difficult days every once and a while when I really take the time to notice all the life moments that are taken for granted.  From all the temper tantrums, the gum that strings between my brand new shoes and the kitchen floor, the slobbery kisses that wipe the lip gloss from my mouth, the obnoxious giggling, the countless questions asked, and a tiny person with a big heart who will never stop loving.  If anything would have been different, I might’ve missed out on these joyous events that make my life worthwhile, so I’m extra thankful for the day when my nephew was given another breath.