the most humbling experience

june 9, 2005,brookwood hospital, room 492
a woman in her mid 40s is lying in the bed that takes up most of the space in the room. beside her, a 20 year old boy sits across from a 16 year old girl, a small table separating them. on the table sits a few sheets of paper, a cup of water, watercolors, lots of brushes, and a camera. the boy and girl paint pictures and casually talk, passing the time. they get bored and begin to apply the brilliant colors to eachothers faces. rainbow eyes, bright red lips...murals of whatever they feel at the moment. enjoying every minute of it, they finish the facial masterpieces they have created on eachother, marvel at them and approach the woman in the bed. holding in giggles, they strike a pose as the woman begins to smile and the smile turns into laughter....and nothing in the word matters anymore

the woman in the bed is the greatest woman i have ever known. a daughter, a mother, a wife, and a best friend of my own mother since high school. she has a personality like no other, an indescribable sense of humor. one of a kind this woman is, even a brief encounter with her could impact your life. i proudly bear her middle name as my own. she's living breathing medical history. born with a congenital heart disease, causing her to recieve her first pacemaker while in high school. an experiement, the latest technology of the time; i hear government officials brought it into the operating room themselves in a briefcase. a few years later, she became the first woman to ever give birth while wearing a pacemaker. she didn't give birth just once, but 4 times. the first, a girl, a miscarriage; the rest boys and all alive and well to this day. due to her disease she's had many medical problems over the years. a constant sufferer of ms for one. a few years ago she had a stroke that would forever change her life and that of those around her, including myself. the stroke paralyzed her entire left side. but nothing can stop this woman, she once again amazed doctors by learning to talk and walk near normal. since then her health has begun to deteriorate. to the point at which the paralysis is taking over and she is now in and out of the hospital...

i am of course, the girl, and her 2nd boy is the one sitting across from me. he's the closest to me age-wise, of the three. this is the one you could always find me with on those lazy afternoons spent exploring the yard, swimming in the the pool, or just watching tv. this is the guy that taught me how to climb a doorway and convinced me that bubbles tasted good(until i tried them myself of course, only to find quite the opposite).i think he was actually in the hospital when i was born. to this day, he still knows my deepest secrets and i his. no matter how old we get or how far we become, all it takes is a phone call to restore that friendship that is forever ours. he is the only one that can make me laugh at any time; and its not just a laugh, its this laugh that takes me back to when we were kids,theres no way to describe it other than the best kind of laugh there is...