A Little Jazz Lesson

My children and I live in a small two-bedroom apartment. I am raising two boys, mike and Larry, by myself and some days I wish I had some help. I realize that God designed a family with two parents for a reason. mike has grown to be a beautiful and intelligent twelve-year-old young man. He has learned to use his intelligence to get what he wants. Larry, a vivacious three year old, does not allow me to sit still for long. My days not only consist of schoolwork but also of dishes, diapers and garbage.

Tonight I had looked forward to my friend and neighbor Yolanda coming over to help me load some software on my computer. She is a single parent, and we always have had a lot to talk about. Her daughter Jasmine "Jazz" had recently turned two years old. Jazz has captured my heart. Her pig tales fascinate me. Her eyes are always bright with zeal. Jazz always has to give me a big hug at the end of each visit.

Jazz did not quite look like herself tonight. Toya mentioned that she had been sleepy all day. Soon after arriving, Yolanda noticed that Jasmines' skin felt warm. I brought her the thermometer that she had lent me a week earlier. Her temperature was 103 degrees. In the few seconds it took my friend to state she was going home to give her baby some medicine, I glanced down. I glanced down, expecting to see the face of a sickly baby girl. Instead I saw the face of a corpse. Her eyes were open larger than natural. I was shocked by this emptiness I had never seen before. How does someone go from feverish, to looking as she had been dead for a while? Unconsciously I whispered the child's name and instantly her mother knew something was wrong. She instantly put her hands under her babies' armpits and lifted, calling her name as if she were begging her. "She is not breathing." Yolanda said. It was then when the panic began. I rushed to the telephone. Yolanda ran downstairs to her apartment to give the epidrine shot she had been prescribed for food allergies. The 911 operator asked me what my emergency was, all I could say that the baby isn't breathing. I ran down the stairs and through Toya's open door. She ran past my with her car keys in her hand. She ran past me holding Jasmine tight with both arms.

I followed her to the parking lot asking loudly for the shot. I could not understand her reply. She stopped when we reached her vehicle. I told her the ambulance was on the way and we had to do CPR now. She turned and looked directly into my eyes and squeaked out the word (Help me I can't). I took this baby from her mother and immediately felt the need to lose my composure. She was lifeless.

I laid her down in the wet grass to do CPR and a lady, I had not noticed before, scooped her out from under me. She began to bounce her. Jazz was almost immediately started to breathe again. I saw the flashing lights of the ambulance. The paramedics began to ask questions and took Jasmine into the ambulance. Just a few minutes after they arrived, they turned the lights back on and drove Jasmine and Yolanda to the hospital.

That was two hours ago. I just received a call from Yolanda; she explained that Jasmine seems to have had a seizure. I am going to lie down in my bed, the bed that my three-year-old son has adopted. I am going to leave the dirty dishes in the sink. I am going to leave the clean towels that have been thrown on the bathroom floor. I am going to just lie down in my bed and listen to my baby breathe.