How to Be Perfectly Fine While Falling Apart

Chapter 4: The Crisis

The next morning felt… ordinary. The kind of day that starts on autopilot - coffee, emails, meetings, small talk in the hallway. Nina was back in motion, back in control.

Somewhere between two calls she noticed Sabrina’s email - subject line: “Just a few things I mentioned yesterday💚.” She glanced at it, smiled a little, and thought, later. Later, when the day slows down.

But the day never slows down.

Just after lunch, her phone started buzzing. Once. Then again. And again.Dad.

She pressed “decline” twice - she was in the middle of something. But when the third call came, something in her stomach tightened.

“Dad?” Her voice was already trembling.

“Nina… your mom fell. They say it’s a hip fracture. She’s going to need surgery.”

For a second, she didn’t say anything. The words echoed in her head, but they didn’t fit together. Her mom. The one who never stops moving, who’s always helping. The one who took the kids to school yesterday.

And now - “She’s okay,” her dad said quickly, “but they’ll operate tomorrow.”

Nina felt her chest tightening. That familiar pressure - too many things at once, and not enough of her to handle them.

She took a deep breath and stepped out of the office, holding the phone close. Her eyes blurred as she walked past glass doors and white walls, trying to make sense of what to do first.

At some point, she called Sabrina. Her voice cracked just a little when she said, “Sabrina… my mom had an accident. She broke her hip. She’ll need surgery. Is there… I don’t know… something that could help her recover?”

Sabrina’s tone changed immediately. Warm, calm, steady. “Nina, breathe. It’s going to be okay. I’ll reach out to the doctor - she’s helped many people after surgeries. But listen - take some time to go through what I sent you. Don’t rush. Start with you.”

Nina nodded, even though Sabrina couldn’t see her. “Okay… okay, I will.” “Good. I’ll send you something for your mom tonight. Try to rest a little, okay?”

That night, long after the kids were asleep and the house had gone quiet, her phone lit up again. A message from Sabrina.

"Here are some products that can help your mom - cleaning the body after anesthesia and medicine, and support bone recovery. Check them out and I will help you to get them.!

Nina read it, saved the attachments, and leaned back in her chair. It was the first time in weeks she didn’t feel like checking her emails again. For once, something else seemed more important.

Tomorrow: Chapter 5 - Nina Starts Her Research