My Supports

My support system is my family. I cannot imagine what my life would be like without them. My parents have supported me over my entire life span, in whatever way I may have needed at that time. When I gave birth to my daughter they were there. My Mother spent the night in the hospital with me for three nights without even going home to take a bath, just because I wanted her there. She stayed with me for two weeks after my daughter was born to help with anything I needed. My parents encouraged me while I worked full time, took care of my daughter and went back to school to earn my Bachelor’s degree. Two years ago I had a disc replacement and fusion. My mother stayed with me until they wheeled me into the operating room and they were waiting in my room when I finally came out of recovery. The next morning my Dad was walking into my hospital room at 6:00 am to make sure I was ok. I could go on and on about all the times my parents have been there for me.

On a daily basis my family supports me by being there if I need them. My mom gives me cooking advice, my Dad gives me car advice, my sister and I share parenting problems and solutions and my brother is just there to always tell me how much he loves me.

A challenge that I can imagine myself having is having limited mobility. This is a situation that I was in for a short period of time. Being a very independent person, needing help on a daily basis was very hard for me. I can only imagine what it would be like if my mobility was impaired permanently. Two years ago I began having severe muscles spasms in my neck. One day it got so bad that I could not move my neck at all or use my right arm or hand. I couldn't  sit still from the pain. It was shooting from my neck to my hand. After going to the emergency room and having a cat scan a couple weeks later it was determined that I had two herniated discs that need to be removed. The pressure on the surrounding nerves was beginning to cause damage to the nerves in my hand and arm. I had to wait 4 weeks before I could have surgery. During this time, I could barley use my right arm. I needed help with doing household chores, cooking and I even needed to reduce my responsibilities at work. After the operation I needed the same kind if help that I required before surgery while I waited for my body to heal. Before and during my recovery my parents aided me in every way they could. My mom came to my house to clean and cook meals. My Dad brought by groceries and was there to offer his support.

Even though I am now weeks away from begin 32 years old, I still need my parents. I think as a parent you spend 18 years raising your child and the rest of your life being there to support them.