I am in the bathroom. It’s a busy morning and I’ve not had much sleep. I am 14 years old and it’s important to me to look good. My Mum bangs on the door, complaining that I am using too much time. I let her in and continue putting on my makeup. Mum takes off her work clothes after her shift at the cleaning company, changing into her uniform for her next job at the...Continue reading→

When my mother’s relatively routine spinal surgery went wrong nearly seventeen years ago, leaving her in chronic pain and unable to work, my brother gave up his life as he knew it. We call him “the sacrificial lamb.” Like Jesus Christ before him, my older brother laid down his entire life at the feet of the people he loves. At 18 years old, my brother was entering his sophomore year in college. He was doing...Continue reading→

I was 20 when my mother had a brain stoke while riding her bicycle, broke her hip and was blood transfused, during an orthopaedic surgery,  with infected blood. She got Hepatitis C, which was the cause of her death, 19 years after the day of the brain stroke. I was informed about the stroke while phoning home from a public telephone (there were no mob phones at that time) to tell my parents that I...Continue reading→

This Saturday my older brother will graduate magna cum laude from Volunteer State Community College with his Associate’s degree in Computer Information Technology. While every degree is special, this one is particularly significant. Earning this degree was a hard-fought battle, requiring perseverance, inner strength, and tenacity. 18 years ago, my brother made a decision that put his entire life on hold. When our mother was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease, she underwent a spinal surgery...Continue reading→