Blog Post #2

A Story of True Love

Ever since I can remember, I have heard my mom share bits and pieces of a story with friends and strangers alike. Even before I understood the meaning of the words, I knew this story was something important. Something real.

 I knew this, because as my mom retold the story, she would cry…no matter the surroundings. As a small child, seeing the tears of my mother scared me to death, and as a pre-teen, they embarrassed me. But now, at 17, I understand the meaning of this told story and the tears that followed.

            The story begins as my mom tells of her youngest daughter born two months early with a collapsed lung. After a month of going to the hospital to visit every day, my mom finally brought the baby home. For a time, all was seemingly well in the world again.

 The baby began to sit up, crawl, stand, and finally walk. This was the perfect progression for any baby until the child began to fall straight backwards. By a mother’s instinct, my mom knew something was seriously wrong.

            Concerned also by the tightness of the child’s muscles, my mom took the baby to her pediatrician. “It is better for a baby’s muscles to be too tight rather than too loose” was all the reply she received. Although somewhat comforted, my mother was not satisfied.

It made no sense for her child to fall straight backwards as well as to have tight muscles and poor circulation in her legs. Something had to be wrong.

            Continuing on in her search, my mother decided to move higher up on the medical ladder. She now visited several doctors within pediatric hospitals. She wanted an MRI of her baby. Yet, the doctors denied her request.

Finally, one doctor told my mom in a blunt and straightforward manner, “Your daughter has cerebral palsy, and you’re just going to have to deal with it.” Cerebral Palsy (CP) is a condition affecting both the mind and body of a person.

            Shocked and exhausted, my mother just continued on with her one request: “Please just do an MRI.” Begrudgingly, the doctor agreed to do an MRI of the baby’s brain claiming that the diagnosis would be evident there. However, a committed radiologist convinced the doctor that an MRI needed to be taken of the entire body.

Doctors stared in wonder at the screen, as directly below a perfectly normal brain, the baby’s spinal fluid was stuck within her spine. Emergency surgery was called, but permanent damage had already been done.

The child is me and this story mine, but I had no control over it. Growing up, I learned why my mother cried as she told what happened to her baby girl. She always wondered if, somehow, she could have done more, fought harder. I have never shared those thoughts though.

To me, this story tells of a woman who loved her child enough to follow her heart even when the professionals of the world were calling her crazy. I owe every step I will ever take to her brave and fighting spirit. This story, although not always understood, shows me what effect the love of one person can have on the life of another.

                                                         

Me and my Mom