Near Death on Week One!

I ALMOST DIED! This was the story I told to my family after the first week of school. Sounds dramatic...of course. Great way to start of a story...for sure. But usually, those words are used as a bit of an exaggeration, for emphasis sake.

Here's the thing... I'm not exaggerating! Thursday had been one of those days, the kind that start wrong and just stay on that road. We hit every light on the way to drop my daughter off to school. Just after I left her, rushing towards my site, she called me. "Mom, come back! I'm going to throw up! I'm so sick!" Dutifully, I turned around, thinking about how long it was going to take me to get to school NOW! My daughter slid into the car, slightly green and ready to cry. I reached for my phone to text the office I was going to be LATE! My daughter came with me to school and rested in the car while I attended my morning meetings, then, thankfully, felt well enough to go back to school (her nausea was due to stress from starting a new school). I trekked back to drop her off and rushed back for lunch supervision. I realized I had not eaten yet, but since I didn't have time, I just kept pushing forward. By the time lunch was over, I had a headache the size of Texas! Stress, lack of food and water, and heat were to blame, for sure. I grabbed two Advil and took a big swig of water. I felt a tickle in my throat and knew I needed to cough, instead of swallow. I did the smart thing and grabbed a trash can so I wouldn't cough out a bunch of water all over my desk. Somehow, in the process of this very normal event, something irregular occurred. Suddenly, I could not take in any air. I felt like I needed to cough but could not breathe! After attempting to breathe a couple times with no success, I knew I had to get help before I passed out.

I have never experienced choking before in my life, but I will tell you this. It sucks! No, actually, I was wishing I could suck in air and couldn't, so it doesn't suck...which is much worse! Helplessness and panic set in at the same time, as I quickly realized that I could not breathe or speak or cough! Communication was suddenly an obstacle! I walked into the office hallway with my hands around my neck (universal sign of choking) and my eyes a little wild with panic. I mouthed, "choking" and "Heimlich" to my colleague and just hoped she understood.

She did!

Within seconds, I had a full team of individuals around me ready to Heimlich me back to normal! I cannot tell you how relieved I was to have such competent, amazing people around me! While I still could NOT BREATHE, I knew my life was in good hands! How true is this in life as well? There are times when life comes at us hard and the pace we run leaves us winded, wounded and wiped out. Being surrounded by good people, friends who have our best interests at heart, who are willing to jump in to save us if necessary, makes all the difference! This year, as we face various challenges, remember to run to those around you for help. Reach out when you are starting to struggle. Ask for support (some of us are actually called "support staff"!). Lean on others for strength and inspiration. If there is one thing I've learned, it is that there are great people everywhere, always ready to help. Here's something else I learned from my near death experience (Okay, maybe that was overly dramatic...)

There is no shame in asking for help. Was I embarrassed? Yep, a little! A red face (one of my colleagues said "blue"), inability to speak and total lack of breath are not exactly fabulous descriptions of a graceful leader! I think the first thing I did when I could breathe again was laugh a little...out of embarrassment. Did I regret asking for help? Not a chance! I'm not sure what the outcome would have been if I was too proud to take my problem to my colleagues for help. I'm a little scared to think about it. Over the next few hours, different individuals came to check on me periodically to make sure I was still breathing and conscious. Not to rub it in, but out of true concern. They reminded me clearly that: There is no shame in asking for help, and... We are all here for each other. This week, I hope you can breathe easy knowing that you have support everywhere you look, anytime you need it. All you need to do is ask...or grab your throat and communicate with your wild eyes! Kim