It was a Friday night right after candle lighting. I was finally about to relax on the couch when I noticed that my seven-year-old daughter’s eye looked frighteningly swollen. Rivka had been suffering lately from environmental allergies that made her eyes teary, itchy and red. I had been using a variety of home remedies, and they usually worked fairly quickly.
But this time seemed different. Her whole eyelid had blown up, and I started to panic. I was in a quandary: Should I call Hatzalah? Drive to the emergency room? Was this truly an emergency or just something to monitor? Was there a doctor within walking distance who could see her?
As I was deliberating, I saw that Rivka’s eye was getting worse. I decided to walk to the ER, which was about a mile away. We had only recently moved to Nyack, New York, but I was familiar enough with the neighborhood to have a general idea how to get there. My older daughters would watch the other children until my husband returned from shul.
When we left the house it was pouring outside. All bundled up, we started the trek down the hill. We were soon completely drenched. I was already dreading the uphill hike to get back home.
On the way, we passed the yeshivah where my husband works and stopped to let him know what was going on. He didn’t think that walking to the ER was the best idea, but he deferred to me. I reassured him that we would be fine, and he should go home after Maariv to take care of the rest of the kids who were waiting for him.
Eventually my daughter and I made it to a very packed ER, conscious of the puddles we were making on the floor. Even our shoes were sloshing!
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