sometimes...

I sat in the hospital chapel, head in my hands, trying to pray but slipping into sleep instead. My phone rang. It was the dispatcher, who wanted me to rush right back to the side of the child I'd just left, in the outpatient clinic. He'd taken a turn for the worse, and the clinic had called rapid response.
My bowed head just earlier had been for him. Sometimes, you just know.

I rushed back toward the elevator. Would it be faster to take the elevator? I tried, but after 15 seconds, decided I'd better just rush up the stairs. Even though I've never said my own words to them, even though this family knows next to nothing about me, I've spent hours of months repeating their words, and have a deep affection for them. I thought of the child's mother, listening and watching without knowing or understanding, and took the stairs two at a time. Sometimes, someone else's emergency is yours, too.