Spotlight: His name was James Robert Gallagher
By Colleen H., Blue Team

When I hold him I feel the world jolt. My whole life flashes. His pale face sits there. His eyes are shut tight. They could never be widened. He lies there. There isn't a movement within him. I think, “What if this was me? I would have never lived to see the bright shiny light of day. All I would have seen is the dark and gloomy insides of my eyelids.” I look across the blank room with machines beeping and everything making noise. My aunt is lying in her bed wearing her blue robe. My uncle is close by my aunt. I stood there on the petite tiles lying 2x4 on the paved ground beneath it.

I stretch my arms out, rolling them down towards the crib provided for sick babies. I release my crunched up hands and let the baby's arm go. Suddenly all of the beeping stops. Bumps rise on my arms. Cold air sends chills up my spine, giving me the fright of my whole life. I back up until I can't back up any more. My back hits the wall, and I lower myself down until my bottom hits the chair. The room lays soundless. You can hear a feather drop. I look over and my aunt is sobbing, squeezing my uncles hands.

Pictures flash in my mind of graveyards and caskets. I see myself in darkness. There is absolutely nothing around me. All I see is dark shadows and small dots of white and blue. I came back to space soon. This indescribable moment affected me and will affect me forever. My whole perspective was changed that exact moment. I will never look at life the same way again. I can't imagine how I would have felt if this had never happened.