We knew our baby was sick, hit extra hard by the cold running through our family. Then late Sunday morning, things got scary. She went from lethargic to collapsed. She lost some color. I had bought a pulse oximeter to read the oxygen concentration in her blood, and that fell below 90 percent.

Since that moment, my sense of terror has subsided. The sadness, frustration, and pity have persisted. But a wave of even greater magnitude has washed over me and my wife since Sunday night: a flood of prayers, well-wishes, and offers of help. It’s an embarrassment of riches in the most important way: close-knit friends, family, and community that make tough moments not only bearable, but even uplifting.