Hi, I’m Anne, and I’m from Guyana originally, but I’ve been living in the United States for the past 39 years. So here I am, telling you about my little story that I have. 

I came to this country by myself, and then I did a sponsoring job, and I brought my husband and my children back. So we’re all over here now. 

But my son – that was a very bad experience for me – my son, when we came over here, he worked it out very hard. They all did, they all went to college, and they worked. But then, two years ago, he complained for chest pain. He was driving home, and he just feels sick that he had a little chest pain again. He said it was a different kind of pain. So instead of coming home, he drove himself to the hospital. When he got there, right away, they had to take him down and give him the open heart surgery. Then he came back home. Everything was good, thank God. 

Then last year, a year and a half now, he was home. We were getting dressed to go to my sister’s wedding anniversary, her 60th wedding anniversary. And we were getting ready to go there. And then all of a sudden, he said he doesn’t feel right. And I hear his wife telling him, “Don’t worry, just put your shirt on and we’ll go.” 

So I said, “Where are you guys going?” 

And then she said, “Oh I’m going to the hospital with him.” 

I said, “What happened?” 

She said, “Nothing.” 

So I said, “OK, I’m coming.”

So by the time they run down the stairs, I put on my dress and I ran down. As I ran down the stairs, I saw them pulling out and driving away. And I keep waving my hand, but nobody would take me on. So I called my grandson. I said, “Come on, let’s go!” The two of us take a taxi and we went over to the hospital. 

Oh yes, I was very angry with her. I was crying all the way in the taxi going to the hospital, and I’m saying, “Why couldn’t she just wait for us? Why couldn’t she just wait for a second”

When I got there, he was lying on the stretcher already. And the doctor says, “Oh, you can’t come in to see him.” 

I said, “But I’m his mother, I want to know what’s going on!” 

Then he said, they have an emergency, he has to go right away into surgery. Then I break down. I start crying, because I didn’t know what was what. His wife went to park the car. So by the time she came back, he was already gone. 

So we sit, the two of us went up and we sit down with his son. We sit in the waiting room and I’m crying, she’s crying. And anyway we start praying and his son was crying too. We’re praying. 

Then the doctor came out and he said “Everything went well. He had seven bypasses.” And then he said, “Thank you guys for bringing him so fast in, because in two or three minutes, if he had stayed away, he would have passed away.”

And I break down some more, at what I’d done. Because I was very upset with my daughter-in-law too; I didn’t tell her at that time but in my heart I was. Because I said, “She could have waited that minute more. Just let me come down the stairs to go in the car.”

But then when the doctor told me that, then I realized that minute could have taken my son’s life away. God knows best, you know? I’m very thankful to her for that. I am obligated to her for the rest of my life for that, as a matter of fact.

So I turned around to her and I said, “Thank you very much for doing that. I am not mad anymore, but I’m so thankful that I don’t even have enough thanks to tell you.” 

So that was my dilemma, the biggest dilemma in my life. I never want anyone to go through that. It was hard. But right now he’s doing good! He’s back on his toes and working and living a normal life again. He’s just had a new baby too! So they’re doing good, thank God. 

That was my little story. Thank you guys for listening.