The phone rang while I was deep into my shift at work.
“This is Nurse Holloway from Lincoln Elementary. Your daughter, Lila, fainted during recess.”
Everything after that was a blur. My hands trembled as I fumbled for my car keys, adrenaline already kicking in. Just hours earlier, she’d seemed fine—maybe a little pale—but she had eaten breakfast and even flashed me a quick smile before rushing out the door.
I sped to the school, heart pounding, every second stretching longer than the last. When I arrived, breathless and frantic, the staff directed me to the nurse’s office.