It was Tuesday night, around 7:00pm. My mom and sister left the house to meet my dad at Hannah’s Christmas musical. I didn’t go because I felt sick. I didn’t feel terrible, but I felt sick enough to stay home. I helped/watched my mom curl Han’s hair.

8:00pm: the phone rings. It’s my older brother calling from his apartment 2 hours away from my house. Strange. He never calls. I picked up the phone.

*

Me: Hello?

Brother: (sounding strange and sick) Allie. How are ya?

Me: Um good, how are you?

Brother: Not so good.

Me: Billy, what is wrong? (At this point my heart was sinking. I thought he was in a car accident)

Brother:I think I have food poisioni- (then.. silence)

Me:Food poisioning? Billy you need to go to the hospital right NOW.

Brother: [Silence.]

Me: Billy? Hello? 

Brother: I’m too tired. (Crying noises)

*

Oh gosh. At this point I started to get scared. 

My brother lives in an apartment with college students a few minutes off of campus at Penn State. I told him to get someone in his apartment to take him to the hospital right away.

Then I remembered… everyone left campus for the holiday break. He was alone in his apartment, 2 hours away.  

I tired to call my mom and dad but they didn’t pick up their phones because they were at my little sister’s Christmas musical. I made my brother stay on the phone with me until 8:30. I asked him what his symptoms were (vomiting and diarrhea) and what he thought cause the sickness (a work luncheon-crab cakes).

I told him that people die from food poisoning because of dehydration. He said he was just too exhausted from puking and having diarrhea to drive himself to the hospital. I asked him if he had drank anything since he began getting sick at 5pm and he said no. I immediately told him to drink Gatorade or water. He promised to drink fluids and hung up the phone.

He couldn’t keep water or Gatorade down so he called 911 and was taken to the hospital where received 2 bags of fluid, 3 shots of anti-nausea medicine, and 2 prescriptions. It turned out that he had a GI virus that has been going around. Eventually he recovered enough to take a taxi home to go back to sleep.

*

What a scare. I thought of a few things after this whole ordeal:

1.I was feeling awfully guilty for not going to my sister’s Christmas musical because I didn’t feel well. I feel as if God had me at home for a reason. 

2. Only hours before my brother called, I was shopping for a Christmas gift for him. While he was talking to me I honestly started to worry if I would still even have a brother by Christmas. (Dramatic? Probably.. but I was afraid)

3. Feeling that afraid made me realize that life isn’t meant to be taken for granted and that it can change in moments.

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Give your family a hug today… you never know what can happen. 

Love you, big brother! ❤