My 8-year-old daughter collapsed at school and was rushed to the ER. As I reached the hospital, the nurse looked up and said softly, “Your family was just in her room.”
The laughter echoing through the backyard had an oddly hollow edge. The sun shone warmly, balloons danced lightly in the breeze, and a table piled high with gifts glimmered in bright wrapping paper. Yet my daughter Piper lingered by her birthday cake, eyes brimming with tears. She had been eagerly anticipating her fifth birthday…
