From the moment she was born I knew she was different, arriving much earlier than expected, and frightening me to death with her little surprise. Then mere seconds later, after the doctor removed the umbilical cord from around her little pink neck, I heard her soft, sweet cry. In that instant, I knew she would be mama’s little fighter. Now here we are, 10 years later, and she still manages to amaze me every day. My daughter, Alexis, has tremendously changed my life and made me a better person by teaching me patience, showing me strength, and motivating me to improve myself. Never in my existence have I met a more patient person than Alexis. She endures so much suffering from her daily seizures, and yet always manages to keep a loving …show more content…
When the seizure stops, my little girl is left worn out and loopy. Instead of giving in to her exhaustion, Alexis usually gets up and goes back to doing whatever it was she was doing before the seizure began. It is through her resilience, or her ability to get back up and keep fighting, I learned what being strong is all about. Now when I get a cold or some other illness, I do not whine or complain much. Instead, I think about her struggles and how she continues to smile through all her pain and discomfort, and I carry on. My daughter’s tenacity encourages me to be a better person. Have you ever met someone so amazing, they inspire you to change your own life? For me that inspiration comes from my daughter. No matter how much agony Alexis goes through, she will rise every morning with eagerness and enthusiasm for the new day ahead. You will never know she might have had five seizures the night before, which left her with a splitting headache, or that she might have had only two hours of sleep due to the terrible side effects of one of her many bitter tasting seizure drugs. Instead of lying in bed waiting for someone to come pity her, Alexis gets up and tries to make every day better than the last. Seeing her ability to make the best out of her
They kept their promise and on January 29, 2010 Tamara Emily Persell was born. I remember it as if it was yesterday and consider it one of the happiest days of my life; however with the little bundle of joy that we as a family lovingly call Toma, came a lot of responsibilities and life in the household was never the same. Before that time my mom did everything around the house and was too involved in my life. After Toma came home, each of us took on part of the chores, helping out with the laundry, cooking and cleaning. Also after her birth I was not the only child anymore and was not on the top everybody’s priority list. I remember feeling more free than ever before, since all the attention was finally lifted off. This also contributed to my entering of adulthood, since all of a sudden I had more responsibilities and freedom than ever before. This experience taught me valuable life
Generally, mothers inspire their children each and everyday. However, the story of Lori Ciuffo DaCunha does not cease at inspiration. My mother's journey serves as a clear model, of the determination and persistence that should be present within all. As her only daughter, my opinion in my mother's actions most definitely is biased. Although, hundreds of others, who have been touched or even rescued by the result of my mother's journey comply with my statements. My mother, Lori Ciuffo DaCunha, once endured through the challenges of medical school and receiving support for the goals she obtained, for her future. However, throughout her lifetime, she has worked to utilize her experiences in order to teach others. Not containing her intelligence,
The patience, compassion and encouragement of one person improved my family’s last years with its patriarch in countless ways. It was this improvement that inspired me to pursue a career as an
On the day of November 30,2000, Jennifer and Travis Vineyard’s second son, Hayden Matthew, was born inside of a room at the University of Tennessee Hospital in Knoxville, Tennessee. I was born in November, but my parents were expecting me to be born in January of 2001, making me a premature. I was very small as a baby with only being 3 pounds and 15 ounces. I was the smallest baby in my family. As a baby I was hard to handle with not being able to breath on my own, my family was being hopeful that I would survive, the doctors weren’t. And with a little bit of praying, I was able to start breathing on my own.
My Sister, Paula, has been an incredibly strong, and powerful woman she has overcame obstacles no other 21 year old has been faced with. As a student at Nebraska Methodist College of Nursing she knows a ton of information about health care, but she soon realized she had knew little about seizures, and epilepsy.
They had now found out that she has cancer again since one tiny cell didn’t get killed. This cancer cell has been growing through all the years and it has become worse, it was now a stage 4 cancer, the highest stage, and has now moved into her bones. She still stands strong today and she says that she made it through all the pain and feeling hopeless through God. A miracle have happened so far from 2013 to 2015 she has gotten better and is out of the hospital. She is back to her normal daily routine and enjoying life as much as she can. “I don’t plan on leaving soon, I just need to get ready for when god calls me home “. She will never give up this life and stop fighting even though every single thing, when it turns
Adopting my granddaughter, Azealia has changed my life in so many positive ways, despite the whirlwind of emotions that I have experienced. Countless thoughts of how I was going to care for and raise her ran through my head and I became overwhelmed. I prayed about it and asked God to help guide me, to give me strength, energy and wisdom.
My mom, Rachel is one of the people I look up to the most in life because she has taught me that no matter what the issue in front of you is, you can always get through it. She was born in Wrangell, Alaska but grew up in Sedro-Woolley. This is where she ended up having a baby at eighteen years old. She had struggled with drug abuse ever since her dad died at fifteen, so she left and didn't come back until she had control over her addiction. This took several years, but by the time she came back, she had a renewed sense of life. Rachel has a mission that she would not give up on anyone like everyone had given up on her. She has since
There are special times in life when the opportunity to witness the journey of another forever influences your own story. For me, this privilege came through my sweet neighbor and Healthy Birth Day, Inc. co-founder, Kerry Morlan and her husband, Luke. On May 19th, 2003, Luke and Kerry’s baby girl, Grace Biondi-Morlan, was born still. The heartache of true loss was difficult to observe and words of condolences seemed too little. Amazingly, the path from an unimaginable loss led to the birth of new friendships amongst 5 moms who shared not only their pain, but a real passion to save babies. Consequently, this passion led to the creation of Healthy Birth Day, Inc. and eventually the life-saving Count the Kicks campaign. As the years passed
One time I was with Nic at a party, and he was staring at something across the room and I wasn’t sure what he was looking at. His mentor came over and said that Nic was having a seizure. My heart immediately dropped into my stomach and I felt tears starting to fill up my eyes. I had just witnessed my buddy having a seizure and I didn’t even know what was happening. That night he had seven seizures. They were minor, but every time there was a greater possibility that it could turn into a grand mal seizure with muscle convulsions. So every time he had a seizure, I stayed brave for him and sat tall with my hand on his back making sure he didn’t fling himself
The seizures more violent, the brain fog never ending. At a loss as to what to do, we decided to take our chances in a bigger hospital; she was taken to the emergency room hoping that a neurologist would be available. Without a wait Keli was taken back to start testing. A doctor, nurses, and yes a neurologist came, she observed Keli, asked a few question then left, she had the results of the tests when she returned. “Keli, your MRI, and EEG are normal, you are experiencing pseudo seizures” Instant relief came to me and gratitude for the “not” answers received, not MS, not a brain tumor, not epilepsy. However, Keli did not experience the same instant relief; she asked “Are you saying that I am making this happen, that I am crazy? The neurologist tried to help Keli understand that her subconscious mind was telling her body an unhealthy way to deal with the stresses of her life. Keli just saw that she was weak, she was embarrassed that so many people who loved her and had been serving her were doing it without a justified reason in her mind. Keli left the hospital not ready for people to know her
My parent’s struggles taught me to never accept defeat because there are endless possibilities for those who don’t give up. Their perseverance for a better life sparked a sense of determination in me that ignited a fuel for prosperity, and an optimism for bigger and better opportunities not only for me, but for my
Amanda’s hospital visits started when she was three years old. Every few months Amanda has to go in for what she calls a “tune up”. This is a two week, sometimes longer, hospital stay where she is monitored, given antibiotics, and does at least four breathing
I remember three years ago, my family and I went to Palm Springs for the first time. That night I was fascinated, not from the beauty of the Palm desert, but the fact that my brother would have a seizure exactly twenty minutes after falling asleep. His brain acted like a clock-working machine. Exactly twenty minutes. Now what chemicals could his body be producing after falling asleep for twenty minutes that would trigger the seizure, I do not know, but I wanted to find out. Moreover, I had to alway keep an eye on my brother throughout the day, especially after he started losing control of his body and falling down without warning. The first time he experienced this, he could have cracked his head open if my father was not nearby to catch is forceless body. There is nothing more stressing than waking up nervous for tests and project while witnessing my own brother shaking uncontrollably. These are some things that clouded my thoughts and focus everyday when I was trying to pay attention in class. Right now, I could not be more than thankful that my brother hasn't had a seizure for months. The changes started taking place right after Christmas of last year, just like a Christmas
From an early age I learned that our very best is often brought to action when we willingly take on challenges and persevere with grace through trying times. As a widowed, single mother, my mom strove for excellence in every area of her life in order to put food on the table for her children. She studied to be a nurse, quickly rose in to administration, became the first in our family to obtain a Masters in Business Administration (MBA), and earned a seat as a director for an international healthcare organization. Her determination and positive spirit served as a great example and sparked a passionate drive in my life to help others while striving for greatness.