Tonight at the store we heard shouts of “Someone call 911!”
As a crowd gathered my wife and I didn’t want to join in the scene of onlookers, but when we saw a baby boy on the ground and his father pleading in Spanish for help as store employees seemed to be standing around I ran over to see if I could help. Sadly I’m not confident in my ability to revive a child, and gratefully someone else took over as the father knelt beside the 1 year old boy.
Realizing I wasn’t helping, and not wanting to crowd around, I wasn’t sure what to do, or how to help….when the sound of crying appeared.
2 little girls standing by a cart, hugging each other, now sobbing, and that’s when it became apparent these were the daughters of this father, their brother having just collapsed and had a seizure, not breathing, eyes open lifeless on the ground.
I went over to the girls, 7 and 5, and stood behind them, put my arms around them and rubbed their arms and backs and repeated that it would be alright.
As their brother began breathing again I told them to look at his belly, that it was moving, and he was breathing okay.
I asked if they had said a prayer for him and they had, and then in Spanish and English said another.
I asked if they had a Mom and they said she is at the hospital and had just had their new baby brother yesterday, they were shopping for a new carseat tonight.
What is your new baby’s name I asked?
They said their parents were still deciding.
Now the paramedics came rushing in. Father questioned by medics what had happened, nothing like this had ever gone on with this boy before, but that he’d had a fever most of the day.
Now they placed oxygen on the boy, the girls cried harder, I told them its a good thing their brother will be able to breathe better now.
Medics poked his foot to take blood and then he started crying, so the girls cried, and I said, that’s a good thing, crying is good, that means he’s breathing and ok. I said you probably hear him cry at home and it makes you crazy, but tonight it’s a good thing.
They smiled as they wiped tears away, as then the medic asked the girls are you the sisters? They nodded. He said your brother is crying and that’s a good thing.
As I hugged them I don’t think they ever looked at me, we don’t know each other’s names, we will never meet again. But in this moment, the difference in our language, skin color, beliefs, looks, social or financial differences made no difference at all.
My heart broke for their father, who was rushed away by the medics with his son on a stretcher, as he turned to see if his daughters were following along, our eyes met and he mouthed “Thank You” to me, a bespectacled, bearded, sunburnt stranger hugging his daughters in the aisle of some store.
I’ll never see them again, but tonight my prayers are with this little family, and I’ll never forget the chance I had to comfort two daughters of our Heavenly Father in a store in Anaheim.
~ jason hewlett
Jason Hewlett, CSP (Certified Speaking Professional), CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame, is a Keynote Speaker for the largest corporate events in the world. His primary message, The Promise, is essential for Leadership, Management, Sales, Marketing, Direct-Sales Companies, and is a combination of engagement and entertainment meets inspiration. Jason has even received standing ovations from IT guys. He has been acknowledged as life-changing by Conference Attendees, C-Level Executives and Hollywood Elite. jasonhewlett.com
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