But life, as it often does, threw us an unexpected challenge.
A month after our wedding, Toby woke up with a fever. I had an important shift at the hospital, and Thomas encouraged me to go, saying he’d take care of things. “Go save lives, pretty nurse,” he joked.
A few hours into my shift, I received a phone call from Toby. His voice was soft and nervous: “Mommy… new dad woke up, but he’s acting funny.” My heart dropped.
I rushed home to find Toby looking pale and worried. “New dad can’t stand up,” he whispered. I hurried to our bedroom and found Thomas weak and disoriented, struggling to stay awake. His phone was beside him, with a message halfway typed: “Fever came on hard. Something’s wrong…” I immediately called for help while keeping Toby close.
Thomas was rushed to the hospital. Toby was treated for his own fever, and my wonderful coworkers watched over him so I could be by Thomas’s side. Later, a doctor shared something unexpected—Thomas’s symptoms didn’t appear to be from a typical illness. They were consistent with a reaction to something he had consumed.
That’s when I remembered the herbal tea Thomas had been drinking—a blend a colleague named Evan had shared with him. I brought the tea in for testing.
The results were surprising: the tea contained a plant known to be harmful in high amounts. The doctor confirmed this could explain Thomas’s behavior, and he added something that made my heart swell—“Your son likely helped save his life.”
Police began an investigation and discovered that Evan had developed an unhealthy fixation on Thomas. Thankfully, the authorities intervened quickly, and Thomas began to recover. He spent a week in the ICU and a month healing at home, with Toby always nearby—offering quiet support through storybooks and smiles.
One evening, I told Toby, “You saved your dad’s life.” He lit up and announced, “I’m going to be a doctor.” Maybe he will. Or maybe a detective—he certainly has the instincts.
Six months later, Thomas is healthy, our family is thriving, and the past is behind us. We’re moving forward with gratitude, holding each other a little tighter, knowing that love—and the intuition of a very brave little boy—can carry a family through anything.