Today I want to celebrate.
Why?
Today marks the three anniversary of my mom beating the odds and winning her way back into health. On March 8, 2013, Boston witnessed a grueling snow storm that not only kept many people stuck in their homes, but also kept my sister from going into school to teach, which was fortunate for us since she was home to resuscitate my mom, who dropped to the floor, unconscious, suffering from a sudden pulmonary embolism and cardiac arrest. Unfortunately, mom had to be resuscitated multiple times and by the time she reached the ICU, the odds were against her for surviving.
Mom spent ten days in the ICU, being kept alive by multiple medications, blood transfusions, a ventilator and 24 hour nursing care, a lot of prayers and energy healing, and she kept surviving every day and every procedure, to the surprise of her medical team. On the tenth day, she opened her eyes and smiled.
I will never forget that day.
You see, I didn’t know if mom suffered brain damage from being without oxygen during her arrest. During the first ten grueling days, I focused on hoping mom would survive and worked closely with the medical team to make decisions. I cried a lot, but I also kept busy, putting my doctor hat on and focusing on what I could do. But there was nothing I could do about her brain. I could only hope.
“What if,” I thought, “we put mom through all of this and her brain doesn’t function?”
I held my breath when she opened her eyes. But you know what happened? She took one look at my dad and a huge smile spread across her face. Though a little fuzzy at first, she was just fine after all. She came home six weeks later and has healed completely and is actually stronger than she was before the event. She takes better care of herself, exercising, eating more healthy foods, and engaging in activities that bring her joy, like painting.
I am so grateful as are my family and anyone who knows my mom. She is grateful too.
And so today, and every day for that matter, I celebrate. I celebrate my mom, miracles, medicine and love…..Most of all, love.
