My Mother, the warrior

My mother is like no other mother living on the face of this planet. Look up to the word 'Warrior made of steel' in the dictionary, and I am surprised that her name is not the definition when it should be. She has seen, lived, and breathed it all since the moment I took my first breath. Surprisingly, I was born a twin, but he died in utero. While I survived but was born severely premature with a tiny percentage of living, facing deadly diseases, infections, even death a few times back in the mid-eighties. A good portion of parents HAVE abandoned their own child at the hospital because they could not face their child's gruesome outcome. No. Not this woman. My mother was at the hospital talking with doctors, nurses, knowing medical terminology, continuously writing many notes, and was there all day until the next day, very early in the morning.

In comparison, she was taking care of my older sister. At the time, my sister was four years old, as my mom was a wife doing all of this at once; this was her job for several months. She never once quit saying, 'I have had it; I am done with this.'

She has seen the absolute worst of the worst that you could only imagine. The things she has witnessed with her eyes are not for the faint of heart. From having a doctor, medically remove my eyes out of their sockets to observe and see if a disease was present or not. She never once cried, fainted, flinched, or acted hysterically in the examining room as the doctor was doing his job.

This is the same woman who got handed a letter in the mail wanting to know if he could use me as a trial and error experiment for cryotherapy ( which was in its earlier beginnings ) from a pompous young doctor with a superiority complex, who knew she was there day in and day out at the hospital for several months. She had gotten so furious about the letter, screaming at the top of her lungs thrashing things around the house. Grabbing my sister from her nap, driving to the hospital, marching immediately into the doctor's office, ignoring the receptionist's words by her saying, 'Do not try and stop me!' Opening each examining room until she spotted the doctor yelling a.him, 'YOU! YOUR OFFICE NOW!!' They walked to the doctor's office; he sat on the side of his desk, showing off his superiority, talking smugly, and looking at his shoes since he ever liked to make eye contact with anyone, including her. She threatened him that she would sue him and the hospital if he ever came close or touched me for medical observation. Significantly high medical bills were made to parents; they did not make much. Making me cost over one million dollars.

I needed to face a significant surgery at five. As she was granted permission from the doctor to go to the operating room, she wanted to know what to do to take care of her youngest daughter. As my body was being manipulated, poked, and prodded with oddly shaped medical instruments with blood being very present, she stood there all in one place against the wall like a statue, not moving an inch, having the urge to pass out, or saying anything for seven-eight hours straight. Probably not many parents would have the initiative to decide to go to those far great lengths for their child.

The endless love, support, and dedication this one woman has for me are tough to put into words. I am beyond grateful for her and blessed to have her as my mother. I exceptionally would not be here without her. In my thirty-five years of life, she has never once left my side, and I will never leave hers.