Stead
This actually happened:
Jill called from work and said she was heading home early because she
was feeling ill. She stopped by the doctor's office on the way home,
and he gave her an injection of an antibiotic. By the time Jill got
home, she was significantly sick. I took her temperature, and it
was an unbelievable 106.9(!) F. I'm not sure how she survived this.
I called 911 immediately and sent 5-year-old Lian out in the front
yard to flag down the ambulance. Lian has only vague recollections
of this, but the image of her standing bravely in the yard during
this event remains deeply etched in my mind.
Thankfully the Roosevelt First Aid Squad arrived quickly and packed
Jill immediately in ice and began to mitigate her fever. We still
don't know the cause of her symptoms (the hospital pegged it as
a "fever of unknown origin"). Apparently it wasn't an allergic
reaction to the antibiotics. I suspect that it may be related to
her MS, which was diagnosed years later.
I wrote Stead that night after returning from the hospital
(Jill stayed for observation, obviously). Anita Cervantes performed
it for a
Roosevelt Arts Project
event several years later.
Alan Mallach also played it as part of a concert he did for the
Roosevelt Arts Project 25th Anniversary Celebration
in 2013. Alan's version is on-line. Somewhere I have a recording of
Anita's performance. I hope I can find it.