Stories of Kindness from Around the World

Years ago I was working in our yard and our youngest child Mia, at the time perhaps two years old, was playing near the small creek on the side of our property. She started crying and as I went to her I realized she was being bitten by a large number of bees! I ran with her to a water hose and hosed off bees.  I was stung quite a bit in the process. I then took her inside and put her in a warm bath and called the pediatrician, whose nurse advised Benadryl and an emergency trip to the hospital!  She explained that Mia could possibly have a severe allergic reaction that could be life threatening. I did not ask what the reaction could be and at the time I did not know what it could be.

I scooped up my baby, gave her medication, strapped her in her car seat, and made a mad dash to the recommended hospital on the other side of town. I kept looking in my rear view mirror at my baby and when she started to sleep I was afraid this was the 'reaction' the nurse had warned me of. I kept calling to her to keep her awake. I was quite terrified.

Then I noticed that my hands were becoming stiff on the steering wheel, and my arms were becoming paralyzed. I had been bitten as well -could this be the dreaded reaction? How could I care for my child? I finally made it to the hospital only to realize I had parked opposite the emergency room and would need to transport my daughter quite a distance, and in my paralyzed state I simply could not. A young woman came by and I asked her to please help me.

She carried my daughter, in her car seat, all through that hospital to the emergency room. I know the car seat, with the baby in it, was heavy and cumbersome. I know the walk to the other side of the hospital was very long and time consuming. This was not something she was happy to do and she kept looking at me strangely as I wondered aloud about my paralyzed arms. I was afraid I would not be able to care for my four children, and would not be a help to this baby in need. I'm sure I seemed more than a little crazy!

The young lady left once she helped us to the emergency room. My daughter was looked over and determined to be fine, just hungry and sleepy after missing her nap. The feeling in my arms and hands returned as I calmed, and I realized the truth in the statements, 'scared stiff'', and 'paralyzed with fear'. 

It has been over seventeen years since that day, and my daughter is in college. Whenever I think of that day I am so very grateful to the young lady who helped me, however reluctantly. In my distress I did not even get her name and have never been able to thank her for her kindness beyond the 'thank yous' I offered at the time. I now know first hand how a random act of kindness can reverberate through a lifetime, and I feel immensely blessed. I pray that she does as well.