Everything that happened next took over in a tumble once I answered that call. 

Dona is amazing under pressure, but when her first words were, “How far are you away from the Tampa Airport?” I instantly knew something horrible had happened. 

The saving grace is that Dona is so much stronger than me, and there is always something in her voice that makes me trust her ability to help me if I’ll let her. So I told her I was in Sarasota — which is an hour away from the Tampa Airport without traffic.

Dona said that she and my brother-in-law, Dave, were at a hospital in Dallas with Lou. His bleeding had gotten very bad that day, and he was complaining of dizziness. So Lou finally asked Dona to take him to the ER. When they arrived, Dona said the intake nurse was just starting to ask Lou a couple of questions when all of us a sudden, Lou fell down, and was out cold. 

In the rush, the ER team crowded around Lou in the entryway. They went to work on him, cutting off his clothing, pulling out a crash cart, and shouting status reports to each other regarding Lou’s sinking vitals. Dona said all she and Dave could do was standby and watch in shock as the team worked to revive Lou. (It must’ve been awful!)

Just as they were starting to jelly up the paddles to shock Lou’s heart, Lou came around. 

The whole thing was a truly unexpected turn of events, and Dona was still processing everything for herself when we spoke. She told me that Lou was totally out of it, and so she did her best to try to explain all she knew about Lou’s bleeding situation — along with what she understood about Lou’s diagnosis from the doctors in Minnesota — to this latest ER doc. 

But Dona said that she really felt like I needed to get on the next flight out to Dallas. She wasn’t sure at that time if Lou would be released or staying overnight in the hospital — but clearly, I needed to be there.

Dona said she could easily book me on a flight that left from Tampa in exactly two hours — which was tight, but I figured I could do it. I vividly remember feeling numb, but not exactly scared. I think because I knew that Lou was with his sister, I could just focus on getting myself to the airport on time. But I also know I couldn’t believe this was happening. 

I thought once we got that diagnosis from the Minnesota doctor that things would remain in a steady holding pattern until Lou’s surgery. At the very least, I thought that Lou wasn’t supposed to get sicker! 

But clearly, I had deluded myself (again) into believing that the simple truth was the real truth about Lou’s condition.

Part of me felt angry, and part of me felt too tired to organize my remaining feelings into a word. I just knew that I needed to jump back into The Imposition Tour, and hope things would eventually be OK.

After I hung up with Dona, I called Julie and told her that I had to leave in a hurry. I was already on my way up to Tampa, but the afternoon traffic was thick, and so I was going to need her to pack up my things so I could grab them on the fly so I could get to the airport in time. Julie is always very clutch; she gave me every assurance she’d be ready for me when I got to her place. 

As promised, she was waiting at the door with my little pile of belongings by her feet when I rolled into her driveway. I have a very strong memory of how smart she looked in her work suit. And, I recall how thankful I was that she is my friend.

After I loaded up my things into the little rental car, I gave Julie a long hug. When she pulled away, Julie did the sweetest thing. She handed me a sandwich bag with two cookies in it. 

“We made these two cookies for later,” she said. “It’s later.” 

Then, Julie gave me one of her beautiful smiles. My heart melted like the chocolate chips in the cookies. Julie always makes me feel better. I love the way Julie remembers things, or how she saves her best lines for the perfect moment. I know I was a mess that day, but two cookies and a hug from my first and longest best friend kept me moving forward during my latest race with time.

The reality that “home” is found in the people you love is a recurring theme for me…

(Maybe it’s a theme because it’s true.)