By Becky Heard and Heather Jeppeson

It’s a question some of us can’t fathom. What would you do if you suddenly lacked the physical ability to care for your young child? How would you manage without assistance?

Dave, a single father of 2-year-old Max faced this terrifying question when the doctor explained what would be needed to treat his immobilizing shoulder injury: surgery, hospitalization and two weeks without lifting anything. Especially Max.

With no family or friends to care for his son for such a long period, Dave felt hopeless and scared. As a congregant at a local church, Dave asked for prayers; he needed a miracle.

And he got one.

The church Dave attends includes a group of volunteers who regularly assist the Yolo Crisis Nursery with routine maintenance, like sprinkler repair, plumbing and pruning. They knew the Yolo Crisis Nursery was Dave’s answer — salvation in a time of need.

Wasting no time, Dave contacted the nursery, surgery was performed, and for two weeks, Max was cared for by loving, highly trained staff in this sweet, homelike environment.

By the end of the two-week stay, Dave was well on his way to recovery, and father and son were reunited. Crisis averted.

Without a doubt, life happens to us all. Every so often we are blessed by good, but inevitably we will be challenged, sometimes to the breaking point.

Yet all Yolo County residents share an unusual assurance because our crisis nursery is always there — a lifeline for families of children ages 0-5 facing temporary hardship.

Not too many communities are so lucky. In fact, we are only one of a handful in California enriched by such a service.

Your support for the Yolo Crisis Nursery is more important than ever and there are multiple ways you can help. While the nursery is 100 percent reliant on private funding, there are also many non-financial opportunities to assist. To learn how, please contact Friends of the Yolo Crisis Nursery at (530) 386-2647 or [email protected].

You, too, can be the answer to someone’s desperate question, “What will I do?”

— Becky Heard and Heather Jeppeson are co-presidents of Friends of the Yolo Crisis Nursery. This column is published monthly.

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