A Sleepless Night
It was nine o'clock at night. I was just finished saying goodnight to my daughters. My oldest child was 2 years old, Kalesita, named after my mom. She said, "Dad! Do you know what tomorrow is?" Of course, I did but I just wanted to see her reaction. I said, "It's my birthday." "Nooo!" she screamed, jumping out of bed and almost falling over her blanket on the floor. She stood in front of me with a demanding voice. "It's my birthday! Remember?" Kalesita asked. "Of course, I remember. How can I forget? You've been reminding me for the last 2 months?" I smiled at her as she giggled. I asked her what she wanted for her birthday. She said that she wanted caked, ice cream, and a Dora, The Explorer, doll. She also wanted to ride the train downtown.
It seemed as if I had barely closed my eyes when my alarm went off. Before I left for work, I went into my girls' room leaning over and giving them kisses on their foreheads. I whispered, "Happy birthday," to Kalesita. She smiled and thanked me with a tired, soft voice. She held up three fingers, "I am three years old, dad."
On my way home from work, I stopped by the dollar store and bought some balloons and some other inexpensive toys. She could destroy them and it wouldn't be a big deal. I arrived at the apartment and knocked. I was not surprised when Kalesita opened the door. She seemed as if she'd been waiting for me impatiently. Her eyes lit up when she saw the balloons. "Is it for me?" she asked. "Happy birthday!" I replied. She grabbed the balloons acting as if she had never seen balloons in her life. She ran around the living room with the bundle in her hand. She gave her younger sister some of her balloons and a toy. She's that kind of person. She didn't mind sharing with her sister, who was almost 2 at the time.
Kale, short for Kalesita, is special to me. She was 8 pounds, 10 ounces and twenty-one inches long as a newborn. She had full black hair and a smile that would melt your heart. She knew how to use that smile to avoid getting scolded if she had done something wrong. She loved to draw and sing along with Elmo. Like most kids, she loved sweets.
After singing happy birthday and eating the cake, we were off to the train station. She was so excited when the train approached. She started to sing and dance and she continued to sing on the train ride. As a parent, this is one of the highlights, to see my children happy. Everything was great. We had a good time and made memories that would last forever. When we went home the girls fell asleep in the car. I would have to carry them up the stairs to our apartment. My wife made a bed on the floor for them as they liked to sleep in our room. We so tired from our adventure that we went to sleep early. It was probably only nine thirty.
My wife awoke to a strange sound. I thought I was dreaming. She heard the sound again. She started to look around to find the source. It sounded like someone blowing bubbles in a glass of water. It came from where Kale was sleeping. She flipped on the light switch. Kale was laying face down on her pillow. Her face was buried in her own vomit. My heart dropped when I saw her struggling to breath. She then started to have a seizure. My wife yelled to awaken me. While she was on the phone, I flipped Kale onto her back to try and open her mouth so that she could breathe. Her jaws locked up so tight that I couldn’t get it open. Her eyes rolled back into her head. I could only see the whites of her eyes. Her face was turning purple from the lack of oxygen. Now I was panicking but trying not to show it. I kept telling myself that I had to do something. I tapped her cheeks, calling her name, and continued to try to open her mouth.
"They're on their way!" my wife yelled. I could hear the sirens. Within a couple of seconds I heard footsteps running up the stairs. We stood by the door already opened, awaiting them. The paramedic asked what had happened as I led him to the room. He was trying to feel for her pulse. A minute later, a few guys from the West Jordan Fire Department arrived. A couple more paramedics came in with equipment to work on Kale. I asked if she would be okay but they didn’t answer. They put an I.V. into her arm, an oxygen mask over her little face, and rushed her on to the bed they brought. They took her down to the ambulance. I asked if I could ride with her and then jumped into the back of the ambulance.
We arrived at the Jordan Valley Hospital. The doctor and nurses greeted us at the door. They put her on another a bed. At this time, she had a fever of 103 degrees. The doctor ordered the nurse to give her medication to try to bring her fever down.
After a few hours at the hospital, Kale finally was out of danger. Her fever went down. She started to talk and smile again. She told the nurse, "Today is my birthday. I am three years old." The nurses brought her a cupcake and a teddy bear. They sang happy birthday to her. By this time it was eight in the morning. It was a sleepless night for us, but I am glad that Kalesita is back to herself again.
