WEST BRATTLEBORO — On June 4, at 10:15 p.m., my daughter and her cousin were hit by a truck on Interstate 95 in New Haven, Conn. on the Q Bridge. My daughter's car had caught on fire, so they had no choice but to walk over the bridge.
They were critically injured, but the accident happened within sight of Yale–New Haven Hospital, a level-one trauma center, which saved their lives.
Tragedy can catch you with no warning: drying the dishes, reading a book. No parent wants to get “that call” in the middle of the night, the call that my husband took on the landline we hardly ever use. He was watching an NBA basketball game, and the Cavaliers were down.
An automated voice announced, “Yale–New Haven Hospital.”
I was lying in bed, watching a new sitcom about two aging women, played by Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. The sheets smelled like fresh-mowed grass. I was relaxed, until I heard the artificial voice.
Something inside of me shifted: I knew that my daughter's life, and my own, were forever altered.
In the days following the accident, I walked along a path by the Gothic buildings of Yale, past fountains and cherry trees.
Away from intensive care, I breathed the sweet air and wished I could bring it back in bottles to the girls.
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It was a challenging time, and my niece's and daughter's recoveries will take a lot of fortitude, but I had both hope and help, unlike many other mothers of the world - especially those in the tidal wave of refugees fleeing Northern Africa and Syria.
According to The New York Times, “Nearly 60 million people are displaced around the world because of conflict and persecution, the largest number ever recorded by the United Nations.” Just last year alone, 14 million took flight.
Photos by Paolo Pellegrin in The New York Times Sunday Magazine tell a chilling story that begins with an aerial photo of a tiny boat packed with refugees in the Mediterranean Sea. The camera gradually zooms in to the faces of the migrants full of both hope and fear.
And they have reason to be afraid.
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I think of all those who died as they attempted the crossing - like the 3-year-old boy pictured face down on the beach with his arms by his side as if he were sleeping.
My daughter and niece will recover, thanks to the help they were given.
I hope the refugees too will receive the help they so desperately need.