Yesterday (Jan. 18), country singer and new mom Jo Dee Messina, who gave birth to her second son last week, tweeted an ominous message, writing: “There’s nothing like seeing a kind face in the midst of an emergency. I’ll explain more on blog when I get home. Do somethin kind 2day.”

Emergency? Uh oh. Much like she did when she shared her birth story, Messina made good on her promise to spill what happened on her Fumbling Mom blog. Turns out her newborn baby, Jonah, wasn’t waking up as often as she hoped and that he was jaundiced in appearance, so his pediatrician immediately administered blood tests.

There was a concern over bilirubin levels, which is a condition of jaundice. Messina and her husband were scared when the doctor insisted on admitting their newborn to the ER, and that’s when Messina began to crumble a little.

We can’t say we blame her – she’s a mom, she can’t be strong 24/7, especially when her infant is facing a medical crisis. That’s when an ER nurse, who is coincidentally a mom at Messina’s older son’s school, went above and beyond to comfort and support Messina, providing a lifeline in a troubled time. Her her small ounce of help taught Messina a valuable lesson to always remember to be grateful for the little things in life.

The entirety of the singer’s blog post is as follows:

*Warning – this ones long *

We came home from the hospital with baby Jonah on Saturday. Monday I noticed, he wasn’t waking up as often and he was looking really jaundice. I had taken him to his pediatrician so he could check him out. They ordered blood work to be done and told us they would call and let us know what they find, if anything.

At around 5, I received a call from Jonahs Dr. He told me that Jonahs bilirubin levels were really high and we needed to take him to the local hospital to be admitted. We decided I would stay at the hospital with the baby and my husband would make sure we were settled, then come home to try to maintain some normalcy in Noahs routine.

In the car ride there, we hardly said a word. “What are you thinking ?” I asked my husband. “Scared”, he said. “Yeah, me too.” That was the gist of our conversation. I had a million thoughts running my mind.
Jonah was in the back, sleeping in his car seat, silent. Every stop light lasted for an eternity. I just wanted to get there. I wanted to have the baby with professionals that could make him OK. My nerves were shot. I didn’t know what was going on and I was trying to make sense of it with minimal sleep.

When we got to the hospital, admissions was closed. We had to go to the ER for them to admit us. As we waited, my husband took Jonah out of his car seat and held him on his chest. He is so loving with our kids. It broke my heart to see the look on his face while the baby nestled in his neck.

They called me over to answer questions regarding insurance, etc. I then see this lady peek her head around the corner. The second I saw her I recognized her. She’s a mom at school. “Hey, it’s me, Mary.” I don’t remember if I responded or not. The tears started pouring down my cheeks uncontrollably. She walked out from behind the desk and sat in the chair next to me. ”If you need anything, I’m here until 10:30.” That one little phrase made me breath again.

I don’t really know this woman. I see her in car line, at school functions. I only know her as Mary Katherines Mom. I couldn’t even tell you what her last name is. I can tell you that, that one little exchange was my lifeline. If she only knew how comforting just seeing her face was. If she only knew the weight and worry those words took off my shoulders.

Each day I try to find something I am grateful for. Last night, she was it. I thanked God for “Mary Katherines Mom.”

You never know what kind of a day someone is having. So, when you can, offer a smile or some kind words. You may just be their lifeline.

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