They Said I Would Always Come Last—So I Stepped Away And Let Them Feel It

while my mother and Kesha camped out in the ICU waiting room, I sat in a vineyard drinking wine that cost more per bottle than my childhood home’s monthly mortgage.

I ignored 175 missed calls.

I read 47 text messages without responding.

I let them sit in their fear and their uncertainty, wondering if I would ever speak to them again.

Meanwhile, I had continue reading …