Ironic

Two years ago today, I received a dreaded phone call...the kind of call that makes your heart stop. My mother's employer called me to let me know that my mom and her husband of over 21 years had been involved in an accident. They were in the hospital and had been there overnight. I was shocked and I was terrified. My mind could not quite grasp what was going on, and I knew it was serious if my mom had not called me in over 12 hours herself. I called the hospital and found out that my mom was on her way into surgery. I grabbed a change of clothes and took off for the longest 5 hour drive of my life.

When I arrived, my mom was still in surgery and her husband was in ICU. The situation was critical. They had been riding on a motorcycle and hit by a car. My mom's surgery took over 10 hours. Her husband did not make it through his. I was there for nearly 2 months.

All of our lives have changed drastically since that day. It has been an awakening about what is important in life. These type of things do that to people.

I have watched my mom fight for her life. Her medical injuries were not life threatening, but the loss of her husband, the near loss of her leg, the loss of her mobility, and the loss of her life as she knew it threatened to steal her joy, her peace and her health.

But she has survived. She is strong. She is real. She is making choices that promote health and happiness. Sometimes she is sad, but she is overcoming. She is a fighter.

She is one of my greatest heros.

Today, I leave to fly to Tulsa to be with my mom. We are going on a retreat that she has been attending for years. I finally get to go with her. I am looking forward to it. I look forward to spending the time with my mom. I look forward to spending time with God. I look forward to spending time with myself. Two years ago she was unable to attend this retreat. One year ago she struggled to get there. This year, we are going together.

As soon as we return to Tulsa, she goes back into the hospital. She will have her fourth surgery in two years. I am glad that I can be there...for both the fun and the not so fun times.
The timing seems a little ironic. It seems like forever ago that I was making that long drive to Tulsa to be with my mom in the hospital. Two years. Wow.

Ironic.