Of course the answer to the question is obvious. Marketing is very important. But how important in the overall scheme of things. That was the question I had to answer yesterday.
Yesterday, when my nice little world came crashing down on me. Yesterday, when I had to choose between my job and my family. Yesterday, when I received a call at 2 am in the morning to come quickly because my eighth grandchild was barely hanging on to a life that only just started moments before. How important is marketing when you receive a call like that?
Let me back up for a moment and give you a little background.
About 26 years ago our youngest child was born. It wasn’t an ordinary birth. We called her our miracle baby, and still do. My wife and I had an RH incompatibility and we expected problems with the pregnancy. We never expected it to go full-term.
But she did go full-term. After a couple of days in NICU she required a full body blood transfusion. I won’t bore you with the details, but it was a harrowing experience.
But that little girl grew up, graduated from college, married her college sweetheart, and started a family.
Fast forward to yesterday. She is pregnant with their second child, a baby girl. She also wanted to have a home birth with a mid-wife.
We get the call around 9 at night that she is in labor and for my wife to come.
Then I get the call around 2 am that every parent dreads. My wife is calling me from an ambulance and urging me to come quickly. Our new granddaughter is barely breathing and on the way to the hospital.
I throw on some clothes and jump in the car for the 30 minute drive to Fullerton. My mind is racing and I’m praying all the way. Without knowing any of the details, I am expecting the worst, but praying for a miracle.
Thankfully, at 2 in the morning there isn’t much traffic and I make record time.
When I arrive, my daughter and wife are just checking in to the emergency room. Our granddaughter had been taken up to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), and her Dad was with her.
I didn’t know it right then, but our daughter was losing a lot of blood from internal bleeding. After a few minutes it was decided that I should go upstairs with Lydia’s Dad. Lydia was the name they had picked out for her and she was alive!
It must have been pretty obvious I didn’t know where I was going and very nice man took my up there. Then the waiting started.
After what seemed like a couple of hours, but was probably only about 20 minutes, her Dad came out and let me in. He guided me through the scrubbing routine and led me over to her.
She had every imaginable wire and gadget hooked up, but all I could see was that she was alive and pink. She was moving her tiny little feet and hands and the nurses were tending to her every need. I found out later that we weren’t suppose to be there, but they had made an exception.
As the story began to unfold for me, I discovered that the Fullerton Police had done all they could to get her to the hospital as fast as they could. Including having a unit at each lighted intersection to make sure it was clear before the ambulance got there.
The Fullerton Police department has taken a lot of heat over the death of a homeless man, but I am convinced they saved our granddaughter’s life that night. I will always be grateful for that.
So, what about Mom? Well, she lost about 2 pints of blood and needed lots of attention as well. She seems to be doing well and will remain in the hospital for a couple of more days.
What about my original question? How important is marketing?
It’s very important, but some things are more important. Today I realize that in a very real and tangible way. I don’t exaggerate by saying I almost lost a daughter and a granddaughter.
God has given us another chance. We aren’t out of the woods yet, and may never be. Our granddaughter may have suffered brain damage, maybe even significant damage. We won’t know that for some time.
But we will pull together as a family and love that little girl as the precious gift from God that she is. And, yes, some things are more important than marketing.
Phil Lauterjung
For entrepreneurs and bloggers marketing is really important in order to help them get successful online and through marketing it is easy for them to target their niche market.