If I Should Die

When Laura was a young girl she spent several years in fear of her life.  It was her mother's fault; she'd told Laura that if she didn't go to the bathroom, she was going to die.

Laura tells me that she suffers from Aspergers Syndrome, and children of Aspergers often miss the subtlties of language.  Her mother had noticed Laura making that "have to go" face while she was playing, but not taking time to make a trip to the bathroom.  So mom told daughter, "If you don't go to the bathroom, you can die."

Without any further explanations Laura became quite anxious about dying any time she became constipated, which can also be a symptom of her condition.

Eventually Laura studied life science in school, and when she better understood the digestive process, both her misunderstanding and her fear were aleviated.

But for about five years she says the worst part of her daily acitivities was going to bed where she was compelled to recite, "Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray The Lord, my soul to keep.  If I should die before I wake..."

Shared by Laura Cushing