When my son Liam was rushed to the hospital after a severe accident, everything else in my life faded into the background.
Nothing mattered except him.
The steady rhythm of medical machines filled the room as I sat beside his bed, holding his hand and whispering that I was there, that he wasn’t facing this alone.
After spending the night awake in a hard waiting-room chair, I called my manager to ask for five days off so I could stay with my child.
I expected empathy—or at least basic understanding.
What I received instead was a detached response, carefully delivered.
“You need to keep your professional responsibilities separate from your personal matters,” he said.
The sentence cut deeper than I anticipated.
I stood in the quiet hospital hallway, unsure whether to push back or simply end the call.
In the end, I replied, “I understand,” and hung up.
That evening, as Liam finally slipped into a stable, peaceful sleep, I reached a quiet conclusion.
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