Returning A Mother's Love

Returning A Mother’s Love

My name is Andrew Twu and I am a 20 year old college student. For the past three years that I have lived in California, I never realized the how much I took my parents for granted. I mean every kid would. At times, they would get on my nerves and I couldn't help but raise my voice at them. I lived on my own and wanted things to go my way, failing to realize that what they said was for my best interest. This summer drastically changed my perspective.

I started to feel uneasy three months before I flew out to Taipei from California to visit my parents. I didn't hear much from my mom, which was unusual, and every time I asked my dad about her, all he would say was "she's out." My father was the only one to greet me when I finally arrived in Taipei. I wondered where my mom was, but still my dad was hesitant to say anything. I went into a silent panic when I realized my dad was taking us to the hospital.

I saw my mom lying in the hospital bed helpless. Her face was pale and she was motionless. She fell down from a flight of stairs and had been unconscious and unresponsive for a month. My heart dropped...I stared at my mother who once used to be so healthy and full of life. My mom, who would make me delicious steak dinners and the person who I could share my heart with, was bedridden and paralyzed—in a comatose state. Her brain had swollen to the point where it was pushing into her skull, so they had to remove a part of it so it wouldn't put strain on the brain. Tubes were attached to her whole body and part of her head was indented. I held her hand, trying to talk to her, trying to get some form of response out of her, and just letting her know that I was there for her. But there was no response. Tears came down from my eyes and my heart pounded—almost beating out of my chest. This was too much to take in.

Every day, for the rest of my summer I would come in the hospital to take care of her with my dad. It is my turn to take care of my mom after all the years she has taken care of me. My dad is retired and I am working three jobs to help pay for my mom's medical bills. Her insurance does not even come close to covering the costs. Life is tough for me right now but I know that this is just one more obstacle that I can learn from and get through. I am going to a community college and keeping my GPA up because I’m applying to transfer out to a 4 year college. I am the first in my family to have gone to college, and when I first found out about my mother’s situation. I was dead set on dropping out of school and just staying in Taiwan and working many jobs to help support her, but I thought about how she’s always supported me to live my own life and be happy, so I know that she would want me to finish college. It’s really hard to respect what my mom wants from me, when all I want to do is spend time with her and take care of her and give her back all she has given me.

Every single day, I think of how I should have been a better son to her and just given her more attention when I could have. All I want is not to regret losing my mother over an issue as trivial as money. I just want to be able to support her and have the ability to support her in the hospital throughout her recovery without her having to move hospitals every other week because of complications and issues. The three jobs I found have all been minimum wage which does very little to help my mom, even though I put in countless hours into working.

I know my mom is fighting in the hospital everyday, so that she can talk or just be able to sit up properly; however, as of right now she can only grip her right hand to show us that she knows we are there. This is my mother's way of showing me how hard she's trying and I just wish I could do so much more for her. Any help that can be given will be greatly appreciated... I would not be able to explain in words how thankful for you guys I am, but I just want you all to know that I am forever and eternally indebted to all of you and I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart..

UPDATE:
In case, you haven't been put on the mailing list for the Updates.
I just wanted to let you all know that my mother has been making a really strong improvement over this past half a year. My father and I are almost 90% sure that she is awake and recognizes us. Though my mom still lacks any physical control over her body such as actions like moving her limbs or talking to us. There are times when we'll get the occasional nod or shake when we ask her questions and though weak sometimes she shows us that she knows we are there by squeezing our hands when we hold her.

As of right now, all we can do is pray and wait for her complete recovery. This could take months or years depending on how her brain heals. The brain is a fickle thing and no doctor can give us an absolute answer. However, she has shown us amazing signs of improvement already! My dad plans to bring her home soon after we move to a bigger place. Honestly, it brings me to tears knowing that she's fighting everyday to get better.

Thank all of you for your support and love. It means the world to my family and I.