Shaken

You just never know when someone is going to say something and absolutely shock you. Today, was one of those days for me. I was completing a new hire physical at work on a lady. She was 40 something and on the paperwork they complete for me, they are asked to answer some family history questions. I noted on her paperwork that both of her parents were killed when they were in their 40's in a train accident. I don't usually ask too many questions around something like this, but for some reason today felt compelled to ask her. She told me that when she was 8 years old her parents were preparing to move her family to a different state, as they were preparing to retire from 20+ years in the military. She was with her 3 siblings while her parents were running errands and were hit by a train and killed. Our conversation continued as I noticed she had also listed all of her siblings, but had no information about their medical history. She told me that her aunt took her older sister, younger brother, and baby sister in, but that she was placed in a children's home for the next 10 years of her life. She has not had contact with her siblings since that time. My eyes filled with tears as she recounted this story. She also told me that her aunt made it so she was not allowed to be adopted and would have to remain at the children's home until she was 18. Now, of course, there are many details missing in this story that I do not know, but I have never had a physical reaction to someone sharing their health history like I did today. I could not help but think of my own precious babies. I know they would likely be fought over in an event like this, but as a mommy, I cannot imagine what this little girl must have been feeling and must have experienced during her time in the children's home. She told me the day she turned 18 she was given her belongings and placed on the front step of the children's home and told they had no further obligation to take care of her. Can you imagine? I suppose in my naive perspective I can imagine that things like this happen, but in the comforts of my small world I choose to not think about them very often. Today shook me. It certainly reminded me how blessed I am to have each of you in my life.