- Friends & Family
- Mental Health
2015 finds me desperately trying to cope in the wake of my mother’s death on December 2, 2014. This was a devastating blow to me. It was painful to watch my mom transition from being the larger-than-life hovering protector to battling back the ravaging effects of depression, eye disease, life-long habitual smoking and heart failure.
All of these challenges consumed her for a span of several decades and landed me in a care-giving role for the past five years. I began charting my mom’s doctor’s visits and her team of specialists some 10 years ago. The snapshot is incomprehensible to say the least. There were five hospitalizations in 2014 alone, and she saw a team of specialists numbering in the dozens and including a retina specialist, cardiologist, physical therapist, pulmonary doctor (for her COPD), psychiatrist, primary care doctor, ophthalmologist, dentist, psychologist, ENT doctor, urology specialist and podiatrist (for toe fungus) not to mention the team of specialists she was under the brief care of some 800 miles away at the Mayo Clinic in 2013.
My hobby of jogging had always served as a therapeutic outlet for me in times like these. When I felt helpless, when the lows were outnumbering the highs, the running let me feel as if I could outrun my concerns for my mother’s welfare.
It gives me added purpose to run for a cause like Heroes in Recovery and to run in her memory. Heroes in Recovery also benefits those who are recovering from habitual alcohol/drug use, and I can’t help but think of an uncle who has an equally compelling story of challenges and overcoming them.
Including these two family legacies in my thoughts helps me in my efforts to cope and as I run the 2015 Heroes in Recovery 6k in Atlanta on July 25, 2015.