On this site’s Fun for the Family page, one of the activities offered is to encourage people to create oral histories capturing the stories of family members. We ask readers to share with us stories about their own family. Here is one that just arrived from educator Cathy Miller — you are welcome to share your stories with us, too.
Story: My dear mother, who left this world last year, told me often of a
terrible night when I was sixteen months old and she almost lost me. She was
changing me, turned around for a moment and when she came around again, I was
blue in the face. I had what southerners call \”croup\” and my windpipe was
blocked with mucus. Somehow, with her special \”I can pull myself up and deal
with anything\” tenacity, she called the local ambulance service (who also
happened to be the funeral home) and I was rushed to the hospital in a hearse,
nearly colliding with a drunk driver on the way. Once there, we were lucky
enough that surgeons were hanging around gabbing after their shift and an
emergency tracheotomy was necessary to clear my windpipe. Every second counted
and they started to work right away. One doctor noticed Momma standing there
and said \”Dear God, get this woman out of here; she\’s this baby\’s mother!\”.
I don\’t remember that day but I heard that story all my life and, as Momma told
it, she affirmed to me that I had a reason for living, I was saved for a special
mission, a special task that only I could do. My life as a literacy consultant,
working with children, families and teachers is testimony to my attempts to
fulfill that great vision of my mother.
Share your special story with us, too.

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