Mary

I want to talk about the way my life has changed, since my sister Mary entered
the hospital three months ago. My sister and I have always been close. We
came from a large family, six brothers and five sisters. I love my brothers and sisters
very much, but Mary was always very special to me. Finding out how seriously ill she
was hit me very hard.

I had just gotten off the phone with her. She didn't sound well, and I asked her to get in
touch with her doctor. She had just been released from the hospital four days prior.
The reason she had been admitted to the hospital in the first place was because she had
trouble breathing.

When her husband came home from work, he saw right away that she didn't look well.
He immediately called for an ambulance. While waiting for the ambulance to arrive, he
called family members and informed them of Mary's condition. Meanwhile, my sister
had become agitated and started to rambled incoherently. Naturally, we were all very
scared for her.

The ambulance arrived, and Mary was taken to the hospital. While on the way, the
emergency medics checked her blood sugar level and said that it had reached 1,200.
Mary had no idea she was a diabetic because she didn't take care of her health. She had
not had a complete physical check up in quite awhile.

By the time the ambulance reached the hospital and she was admitted, the doctors knew
she would need an emergency operation. Her body organs had started to shut down,
including her lungs, kidneys, and even her heart rate slowed down tremendously.
She is so ill that her husband and the nurses have to feed her, because she is too weak
to feed herself.
In the past three months, she has had six operations. The most devastating were the
amputation of her left leg and a piece of intestine removed. As if that wasn't
enough, she has had to get dialysis procedures three times a week, and she also lost about
eighty pounds. Ironically, for a long time she has wanted to lose that amount of weight,
but of course never by something as drastic and life threatening as this.

Her stomach operation was a success and the amputation of her leg saved her life, but it's
going to be a very long and slow process, before she is well again. Mary has always been
one who could endure many hardships, and I know she'll overcome this very difficult
challenge.

I can't seem to think about my sister without wanting to cry. It hurts to pretend that
everything is going to be all right, when I don't know what tomorrow may bring.
It's taken a toll on all of us. Her husband and son have suffered the most. Many days I
wake up saying to myself that I just had a bad dream. But then I go to the hospital and
see her lying in that bed so helpless, and I realize that it's not a dream. Seeing her in this
condition, and knowing there is very little I can do, has been very painful for me.

So how does all of this affect me? Since my sister has been taken ill, I further realize
how short life is. How important it is to accomplish your goals. For those goals that
prove to be unreachable, how important is it to at least try. I've always wanted to further
my education and this family emergency was my final wake up call, the final push I
needed.

By Iris Feliciano Date: 09/06/01