Then one night, everything changed. I came home from work to find Josh pacing, Lila screaming in his arms. “Something’s wrong. She won’t stop crying, and she feels hot.”
Her forehead burned. “Get the diaper bag. We’re going to the ER.”
At the hospital, doctors discovered Lila had a congenital heart defect—a ventricular septal defect with pulmonary hypertension. Life-threatening if untreated. Surgery was necessary, and expensive.
I thought of the modest savings I’d built for Josh’s college. “How much?” I asked. The number sank my heart. It would take almost everything.
Josh looked devastated. “Mom, I can’t ask you to… but…”
“You’re not asking,” I interrupted. “We’re doing this.”
