"This is the necklace I was wearing the first time I saw you, Ella", I explain as I latch a gold necklace around my soon-to-be kindergartener's neck. My mom put it on me when I was delivering you. Now, I'm passing it on to you as you head off to your first full day of school. She proudly displays the necklace over her white button down uniform and bounces down the stairs for breakfast.

Today is one of those monumental days I think all moms look forward to, yet somehow dread at the same time. Today I will send my baby girl to kindergarten. She poses in front of the door for a quick 'first day' picture and off we go. I feel the tears begin to stream down my face as we cross Union Hills Drive,still four miles from her school. I put my sunglasses on to hide my face. Glancing in the rear view mirror, I am thankful for the sight: her thumb stuck softly in her mouth. A reminder to me of how young she is still.

We arrive at her school. As we pull into the 'drop-off zone', I explain how I am just going to let her off here so she'll get used to the routine. I inform her I will park the car and come take pictures on the playground prior to school starting. She jumps out of my Denali- no kiss, no goodbye, no second glance. "That's fine, I'll see her in two seconds," I say aloud to myself as I glance up to see other moms crowding around the jungle gym.

Camera hanging off my neck, I prance from my car toward the playground. CRASH! THUD! POW! Right in front of the drop off zone a three car accident has unfolded before my eyes. Ella's preschool teacher, Mrs. Lewis, looks at me and declares, "Go, Cara. You're the nurse."

Oh No! Don't these people get it? I am a labor and delivery nurse. From what I can see at a distance, there is not one person with a dilating cervix. However, many eyes are upon me. I see two people involved in the accident standing next to their cars. Whew!

"You can handle this, Cara. Pull it together. Dry up the tears. Kindly offer your nursing services and then dismiss yourself".

I walk up to find the third victim slumped over the steering wheel unconscious, airbag deployed. I feel my heart race. I can do this. Airway, Breathing, Circulation....ABC's! Have I really been a nurse for ten years? I go to the car, open the door reluctantly for what is about to unfold. I see she has a name tag bearing the logo of a local hospital. She, too, is a nurse. Oh my goodness, I have to do this for her. I would want the same for myself.

"Stephanie" I say loudly in her ear, reading her name tag. She opens her eyes. Oh good- she must have an airway, must be breathing, and have good circulation if she is responding. "My name is Cara. I am a nurse and I will be here with you until an ambulance arrives". Tears stream down her face. She goes on to tell me about the tremendous pain in her neck, back, jaw, and shoulder. If there is anything I remember from nursing school, it is: do NOT move a patient out of the car with possible head and neck injuries. Whew! All I have to do is stay with her until help arrives. I find myself asking her questions, assessing her injuries, reassuring her, touching her face, and wiping her tears. When she drifts off, I speak firmly for her to stay with me. Then, it happens:

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