After my car acci:dent, Mom refused to take my six-week-old baby, saying, “Your sister never has these emergencies

At the hospital, with machines beeping around me and pain medication making my tongue heavy, I called my mother.

“Mom,” I said, fighting to stay awake. “I was in an accident. I need you to take Eli for a few days.”

There was a pause. Then I heard ice clink against a glass.

“Oh, Maren,” she sighed. “This is really terrible timing.”

I stared at the ceiling.

“I’m in the emergency room.”