Everyday Hero

She had been battling a cold and a lingering fever for a while. She was still working, but that was it. For a few weeks, I had to FORCE her to hang out with me and I was starting to take it personal. She coughed and coughed and was so tired. I worried about her, but I was SO aggravated with her. "Why don't she take better care of herself?" was the angry question that kept running though my mind. She had been to the dr and taken a slew of antibiotics...But to no avail. She was even sicker.My brothers and I BEGGED her to go the the dr. Money was an issue for her, so we offered to pay her way. She declined repeatedly. One day after she got off work I was just about to head to her house. I was standing in Shipley's when my cell phone rang. It was my mom's sister (one of "the aunt's"). She said "Your mama told me she thinks she needs to go to the dr...For her to say that, there must be something wrong." I agreed, but I was infuriated that she went to them, instead of us. After all, we had spent the last few weeks caring for her and pleading with her to go see someone. I jumped in my car and in a fit of rage I pulled up at Amber's house and asked her to keep the my girls. Then, with a chip on my shoulder I headed to Mom's house. I whirled in her yard as angry as could be. I was tired of the nonsense. I was ready to get my mom back. I stomped in and there she was on the couch. She was laying on her side facing the back of the couch. She still had her apron on from her day at David's. I snapped at her to get up and get in the car, or I would put her in the car. I had never ordered her around like that. It felt foreign and wrong. But I felt justified in my actions. I felt I had no other choice. She was angered by my disrespect, but to my surprise, she listened. She was shooting me looks that threatened to make me fall dead where I stood. But still, she listened. We rode in silence. I decided on the way that we would try a new clinic. New to us, anyway. We had never been to Immediate Care, but I had heard great things. So, we went. In the waiting room she continued to avoid speaking to me. She was very mad at me. I reached and felt her forehead and she was definitely feverish. She was bundled up tight in her jacket, with her arms crossed on her chest. Her head was laid over slightly toward me. So as we waited, I broke the ice between us and put my arm around her. I grabbed the side of her feverish face and pulled her head down on my shoulder. She didn't pull away, so I knew she forgave me for snapping at her. She just laid there. She was sick and pitiful. I rubbed her head until we were called back. That was the day we met a hero.

While the girls and I were roaming the aisles of Wal-Mart the other day, I came across a familiar face.... I smiled and didn't think much more about it. Between working at David's, working at Shipley's and at SCRMC, there are a lot of familiar faces out there. So we continued to do our shopping. As usual, I threatened, bribed and used every thing in my arsenal to keep the kids from running amok. The allure of the pink and red really drew the girls in and they asked so sweetly if we could go down the Valentine aisle. As we walked and the girls "oohed" and "ahhed" over the yummy gifts wrapped in shimmery crimson hearts, I thought to myself, that as much as I say "they're just like their daddy", they are a LOT like me too. I, too, am drawn in by the seasonal aisle at WalMart. Whether it is decorated with red and green and smells of pine and cinnamon, or lined with black and orange and is scented of candy corn, or is draped in pastels and plaids with Eastery treats, or like this day, is covered red and pink and very girly and romantic. I love it, love it, love it. Soon, our trip down Valentine Road ended and there she was. That same sweet, smiling, familiar face. All of a sudden, a memory washed over me so vivid, my heart stopped beating and my eyes filled with tears. I was back in that waiting room at Immediate Care, with my sick lil mama on my shoulder. Before the thought was fully processed, my mouth began to ask "What's your name?" But before she could respond, I answered for her..."You're...You're Dr. Sumrall......" She shook her head in agreement. Looking back, she must have been a little freaked out by my greeting.....But you wouldn't know it to look at her. She continued to smile sweetly. She had a look on her face, as though her curiosity was peaked as to who I was. So, with a timid voice, I continued. "You won't remember me. But you found my mom's cancer". It was blunt, I know. But still I said it. Her hand left her side. She lifted it up and gently grabbed her chest. Though she remained quiet, she had an even softer look on her face. So I felt compelled to continue. "My mom was sick. She never went to the dr, so she had no regular physician. She had been to another clinic a couple times, with no results. Finally we came to see you. You were wonderful with her. You eventually ordered the test that discovered her cancer." Tears started to gather in her compassionate eyes. While I had the opportunity, I finished my thought. " You told us the results, and referred us to Dr. Dobbs. It unfolded from there. She had a very aggressive cancer. Because of YOU and your swift actions, we had ten beautiful months with our mom. You gave us that. Please never doubt the impact that you have on people....Because in our case, it was huge." I was proud of my unusual ability to put my thoughts together in sentences that actually made sense. Usually, when I have something to say that is important, ESPECIALLY about mom, my voice starts cracking, I stutter, and I sometimes even cry. I wanted her to know that she is a hero. Because she absolutely is. When I finished talking, she broke her silence and through her tears she simply said "Wow. Thank  you". Before I walked away, she said Mom's name: "Ms. Brenda Cochran". My heart fell out of my chest onto the floor. I shook my head "yes" in astonishment. She met mom a total of 4 times about two years ago. This dr. sees tons of patients a day, HOW did she remember my mom's name-- whom she has not seen in about two years? How? The mention of my mom's name jerked the tears from my eyes. I grabbed Dr. Sumrall and hugged her tight. I am just in awe of her dedication to her patients. Her compassion. Her urgency to discover the problem and actually heal people. Her tears proved her heart is in her work. Her memory of my mom proves her patients don't roll in and out on a conveyor belt. They mean something to her. She takes her God given talents seriously and it shows in her work. I thanked her again while we embraced. She continued to wipe her tears away and actually thanked me.

Dr. Sumrall didn't pull my mom from a burning building, she didn't jump in front of a bullet aimed at my mom, and she didn't find the chemo that made mom's cancer disappear. BUT, she did her job to the best of her ability. She ordered an xray that showed a mass. Then she ordered the ct-scan that revealed the mass was cancer. She moved swiftly and wasn't swayed by the fact that that mom had little money and was uninsured. Mom was in BAD shape when they found the cancer and it was spreading at a rapid speed. Had she been brushed off, she wouldn't have lived long at all.....weeks---- maybe.... Dr. Sumrall saved her. She gave us 10 months filled with memories and tears and irreplaceable conversations. She is a hero. An everyday hero.