Still wearing my hospital band and barely able to stand, I was ordered to babysit my sister’s eight-month-old while she flew to Paris. My mother told me to “just help her.” What they did not expect was that I would make one life-changing call.

Three days before that, I had been released from the hospital after a serious kidney infection that left my legs unsteady and my body trembling if I stood for too long. The discharge instructions were clear: rest, drink fluids, avoid lifting, and come back immediately if the fever returned. That morning, even getting from my bed to the bathroom had …