Tonight was my first night on stage in the play Àfram Latibær. I was playing Eyrún Eyðslukló (in English it's Penny Pestela) being American in a Iceland production has its perks and downfalls. The perks are you get to travel to a new country, learn a new language and you get to meet your cast which later is your family. The downfalls are you have to sing and speak fluently in icelandic and my personal story that I will never forget.
We were singing the ending number which got stuck in my head a lot.
We must never
No, we can never forget it
Yes, let's spread the word:
There's no point in
Staying still
Let's stop lying around being lazy
And not letting anything happen
Life is worth much more than that
(We say) Let's go LazyTown
Let's go LazyTown
Where life is always better
Every day
(We say) Let's go LazyTown
Let's go LazyTown
No town in the land
Is nearly as great
We stood together
And won as a team
On our glorious day
The town that was once full of
Couch potatoes and sloths
We were active and let nothing
Stand in our way
Now it's fitting
For the town to change its name
(We say) Let's go PlayTown
Let's go PlayTown
Where life is always better
Every day
(We say) Let's go PlayTown
Let's go PlayTown
No town in the land
Is nearly as great...
Once we got finished we were going to go out to meet the kids but as we were walking, my body just froze.
"Kayla are you coming?" Magnús asked.
Then I just collapsed having a seizure on the floor. Everything after that was blurry, people were shouting stuff as I was fading in and out of consciousness only two of my friends stayed by my side. Ingrid Jónsdóttir and Ólafur Guðmundsson were two of my closest friends who I really bonded with. My spirit floated out of my body as I watched a frantic scene unfold.
"Oh no! She's not responding!" Ingrid yelled.
"Move!" Ólafur said kneeling down by my body. He put a ear on my chest to check for signs of life. It was obvious that there was nothing my body movement had ceased. He started pushing down on my chest.
"Magnús did you call an ambulance!" Ingrid yelled.
"Yes I did." Magnús said.
Ingrid got down on her knees and both of them carried out cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Magnús went outside to flag the ambulance down when it came. The others went out to greet the kids, they couldn't leave them hanging. What seemed like an hour of life saving efforts before the ambulance got there was only 45 minutes. Once the ambulance got there and loaded me on to the gurney, I don't remember much but breathing again felt so much better!
A few hours later when I was laying in my hospital bed, someone knocked on the door. "Come in!" I yelled.
Ólafur, Magnús and ingrid walked in with flowers.
"Hey Kayla." Magnús said.
"Hey guys...I really appreciate what you guys done for me." I said.
"What do you mean?" Ingrid asked.
"I saw you and Ólafur trying to revive me and it worked. I guess the first night went out with a bang, am I right?" I joked around.
"Yeah, it was a bang alright." Ólafur said.
"Wait how'd you see?" Ingrid asked.
"Near death experience." I said.
"Oh."
"At least you guys got to change clothes." I said.
"I was debating on rushing here or just changing really quick." Ingrid said.
"They really wanted to get to you." Magnús said.
"Yeah I can imagine. Ever since we met they been my best friends. And what they did for me justified that." I said. "I don't know what happened I've never had a seizure like that before except when I was five." I started to sing with all my strength in my body because without them two I wouldn't be here right now.
When I'm tired
When the world is evil
It comforts me
Just to know you're here
Ingrid:
You are never alone
No matter what happens to you
You are never alone
Because you have me
Ólafur:
And because you have me
Ingrid and Ólafur:
You have a good friend
Me:
When people are too much
Foul with everything to complain about
I often fight in defense
But I know that you'll save me
I am never alone
No matter what happens to me
I am never alone
Because I have you
And because I have you
I have a good friend
Ólafur:
I am never alone
No matter what happens to me
Ingrid:
I am never alone
Because I have you
All:
And because I have you
I have a good friend
Yes, I have you
I have such a good friend
"Aww that was sweet." Magnús said clapping.
"I wouldn't be here without them, and I'd rather be here than dead. If they didn't spring into action like they did it would have been different. You would have needed to replace me because I wouldn't be on earth anymore." I said.