My life started with human errors and complications of epidural anesthesia. While my mother was in labor, a higher dose of epidural was administered that caused her to lose sensation from the neck down. She started having difficulty breathing, her blood pressure dropped, and she had a panic attack. This resulted in me going into tachycardia and fetal distress and my mom and I were immediately taken into the operating room for an emergency C-Section. Upon birth they discovered that my lungs were severely infected from ingesting meconium, and my parents could only hold me for a few seconds before I was flown to a children’s hospital to further my care in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. My parents were told by the doctors that I had a 50/50 chance of living.
As a woman, my mother had to go through both intense physical and emotional pain during this time. A woman embodies strength even during times of high stress and discomfort. The experience that she had was something that she could not talk about for the first two years of my life without crying. A woman is also allowed to feel vulnerable when she needs. I believe that being a woman involves recognizing weaknesses you have but also acknowledging the strengths of their heart, body, mind and soul. This may be different from woman to woman. My mother recognized her weakness of this story and didn’t let this experience affect her role as a mother. She pushed through and used it to strengthen herself as a strong, caring, courageous woman.
As a woman, my mother had to go through both intense physical and emotional pain during this time. A woman embodies strength even during times of high stress and discomfort. The experience that she had was something that she could not talk about for the first two years of my life without crying. A woman is also allowed to feel vulnerable when she needs. I believe that being a woman involves recognizing weaknesses you have but also acknowledging the strengths of their heart, body, mind and soul. This may be different from woman to woman. My mother recognized her weakness of this story and didn’t let this experience affect her role as a mother. She pushed through and used it to strengthen herself as a strong, caring, courageous woman.