While my seven-year-old daughter fought for her life in the hospital with severe pneumonia, my neighbor decided to “decorate” my front door with rotten tomatoes. All because I hadn’t put up Halloween decorations early enough for her liking.

You know those days when life hits you so hard you can barely catch your breath? That’s been my reality lately. Between double shifts at the diner and spending every spare moment at the hospital with Lacey, I’ve been running on caffeine and sheer determination.

It started with what I thought was just a cold. Lacey came home from school one Tuesday with a slight cough. It didn’t look like anything serious. But by Friday night, she was burning up with a fever.

“Mommy, I don’t feel good,” she said while trying to catch her breath.

That was the point where I realized something was extremely wrong with her.

I didn’t even wait for an ambulance. I wrapped her in a blanket and drove to the ER like my life depended on it because it did. My life is Lacey.

The doctors moved fast, thank God.

Words like “severe pneumonia,” “aggressive infection,” and “extended stay” flew around while they ran tests on her. After what seemed like an eternity, the ER doctor finally sat down with me.

“The infection’s in both lungs,” he explained gently. “She’s going to need intensive treatment. We’re looking at a minimum of three weeks in the hospital.”

“Three weeks?” I looked at him with wide eyes. “But… but I have to work. The insurance… it doesn’t cover everything.”