Carla Saunders and Kyle Cook #
https://storycorps.org/listen/carla-saunders-and-kyle-cook-170915/
Summer 2010, we had six babies in the nursery who were in withdrawal.
- nursery (noun. C) - a room in a house where small children sleep andplay
- withdrawal (noun. U) - process of ceasing to take an addictive drug, often accompanied by unpleasant reactions
It was so hard to watch these babies—they would have tremors; they’re inconsolable.
- tremor (noun. C) - a slight shaking movement in a person’s body,especially because of nervousness or excitement
- inconsolable (adj.) - so sad or disappointed that it is impossible for anyone to make you feel better
And little did we know that was the tip of the iceberg.
- iceberg (noun. C) - a very large mass of ice that floats in the sea
We were bursting at the seams*.*
- bursting at the seams (informal) - If a place is bursting at the seams, it has a very large number of people or things in it.
And these babies were carrying the flag of the substance abuse problem in the United States.
- substance abuse (formal) - the use of a drug to get pleasure, or to improve a person’s performance of an activity, or because a person cannot stop using it
When you see a baby, especially one that has been in your care for a long time, that has been off the charts in withdrawal, and you’ve done everything you possibly can and you finally get this baby acting like a normal baby, and then he smiles at you.
- off the charts (informal) - at a very high level
And to know that you’ve made a difference in a mother’s life—I mean, that will carry you through the darkest times, knowing that, my gosh, we did this.
- gosh (informal, old-fashioned) - used to express surprise or strength of feeling