Reality Shifts Saved Both My
Babies byCynthia
Sue Larson September 5,
2000
photo by Anne Geddes
I've told the story of how I Felt Time Slow to a Stop,
and I was able to catch my baby before she fell head-first
onto the marble floor of a train station. I had been walking several paces
behind my husband as he carried our first-born baby girl up on his
shoulders, and she was not holding onto his hair, but instead was bouncing
along with her arms flapping up in the air with each of his steps. His
arms were full of luggage (one suitcase in each hand) as we walked on the
marble floor of a Swiss train station. I saw my daughter lose her balance
and begin to fall backwards, head-first towards the marble floor. I was too
far back to catch her... yet that was the only thing I was wishing for at
that moment. I experienced the strangest sensation at that time... I
literally felt time slow to a stop around me! I could hear sounds drop
down into lower frequencies (like a low hum) as I continued to walk several
paces forward and catch my daughter in my arms while everyone else around
me was moving in slow-motion... and then came to a stop. Time started up
again once I held my daughter in my arms, and I felt an overwhelming sense
of joy and gratitude.
What I didn't mention in that article is that my second-born daughter also
fell head-first toward the floor one day, and was also miraculously
saved.
The reason for my hesitation to share the story of my younger daughter's
close call with a head-first fall is that for many years, I felt the
near-tragedy was brought about by my own negligence and was ashamed to
mention it. I've now dealt with my feelings of guilt, and am ready share
my story. I hope that if it helps even one person who faces similar
near-disasters realize that even in a crisis (perhaps especially in a
crisis), miracles can and do occur, it will be well worth it.
It all began when my baby was still in diapers, and my older daughter was
away at preschool. I was carrying garbage out from the kitchen to the
garage trash bin, so I set my baby down for just a few minutes on a
waist-high shelf by the garbage. She was old enough to sit upright by
herself, and seemed to be perfectly stable, so I let go of my hold on her
and set down the tall plastic kitchen trash container and removed its
contents to be emptied into the garbage trash.
When my arms were full of trash that I was moving from the kitchen
receptacle to the garage large bin, I saw in horror that my baby was
starting to tumble over. She was rolling over on her diaper, beginning to
drop down off the shelf towards the concrete floor three feet below.
I was horrified to realize that there was absolutely nothing I could do
about her head-down descent toward the concrete floor, because I had both
trash cans and a bag of garbage between us. All I could do is watch and
pray that she would be OK.
I was astonished to witness her fall head-first off the shelf, when
miraculously her trajectory brought her shoulder into contact with the
rubbery plastic edge of the tall kitchen trash receptacle. She bounced off
this edge, having hit it square-on, and as she headed back up again, her
body moved gracefully into an upright position so her head was now up and
her diaper-protected bottom was down. In this position she fell to the
floor, landing on many layers of fluffy cotton diapers (the kind I washed
at home). She cried only briefly from the shock of the landing, and I
cried tears of gratitude and relief when I picked her up to hug her close
to me!
