WHEN LIFE HAPPENS

You wake up one morning expecting a day similar to all other days, you do not realize today will change your life as you know it.

This article is a dedication to my mother and the untold story of my personal battle with grief. I call this segment Remembering Mom. One thing is true about life, it goes on whether you like it or not, but what do you do when you’re having a trouble keeping up?

It was a typical Sunday morning, I was in town visiting my mom. I had made a home in Dothan, Al and my mom lived in our small home town called Wetumpka, Al. I was just close enough with a two hour commute to visit often. That morning was no different than any other Sunday morning as we loaded up in the car to go to church. I remember mom having a great time singing in the choir and then giving a soul stirring prayer. It was moments after that I would see her slump over in the church pew silently. She suffered a brain aneurysm. Instantly, I sprung up and ran to her side. I just remember screaming as the ushers removed the onlookers from the sanctuary and called the ambulance.

That Sunday morning was the beginning of a life forever changed not only for my mother but for me as well. We spent 30 days in the neurological critical care unit. I lived out of the hospital waiting rooms, gift shop and cafeteria. I remember spending nights on the hospital floor as we waited on the status of my mother’s condition. She lived, but the next year before her death was extraordinary; I got to know her, really know her.

I traveled through the early years of her life as she gradually regained memory (though all out of order) and started to live again. There are not enough words to express how hard, yet rewarding this time was for our family. The outcome? A ministry and a faith based business in her honor.

As the daughter of a brain trauma survivor, I had to think of a way to reach out to families who were not so blessed. As you might imagine the trauma unit can become a place where non related family members are created overnight; many tears were shed as some families went home with their loved one and some went home alone. The University of Alabama Medical Hospital Neurology unit was where the idea for my business My Shared Faith was born. Throug this new ministry, we offer inspirational cards and gifts when words are not enough.