It all started in January 2018, during the training period leading up to Ian’s, Meekah’s husbands, deployment to the Middle East. When Ian left for training, Meekah thought of this month as a preparatory period to figure out how to do life on her own with her three girls before the deployment actually begun.

One ordinary day, Meekah paused in the car to cherish a moment of peace while the girls slept in the backseat. Eventually, she carried the girls in one by one, saving Mary Kate for last. Meekah paused in the doorway with Mary Kate draped over her arms and felt this nudge to lay Mary Kate on the couch instead of taking her to her bedroom with the other girls. Meekah was doing the laundry when Mary Kate’s snoring suddenly stopped and silence filled the living room. Meekah rushed in to find Mary Kate purple in the face. She immediately called 911 and started CPR. Compression after compression, she kept going until EMS arrived and saved Mary Kate’s life. After an emergency tonsillectomy, Meekah breathed a sigh of relief; all is well. Or so she thought.