Had Emma seemed unusually sleepy?
Yes.
Stiff?
At times, yes.
Shaky?
I had noticed small moments.
Confused?
Yes.
Quieter than normal?
Yes.
Frightened at night?
Yes.
Every answer pulled another ordinary family memory into a different light.
I had spent weeks observing my daughter without realizing I was collecting pieces of the same problem.
Dr. Stevens wrote rapidly on an intake form.
Then he placed Diane’s orange prescription bottle inside a clear evidence bag and asked his nurse to record the time in Emma’s chart.
5:57 p.m.
The note documented that Emma had been brought in by her mother after possible unauthorized administration of an adult prescription medication.
That wording mattered to me because it was the first time the situation existed somewhere outside my own frightened thoughts.
