Love heals all things

Love Heals All Things[a] My sister, Michelle, survived a life-altering car accident while driving on the 10 Freeway on February 22nd, 2019. The impact of the crash left her unable to recall what she had to dodge on the freeway and what caused her vehicle to overturn. All she remembers is leaving work to pick up her daughters and then waking up in the ICU at Pomona Valley Hospital. The incredible police officer who found her says that all she could manage to utter before she went unconscious was, “I had to dodge something.” Paramedics and doctors took over and the police called to tell us that Michelle had been in a near fatal car crash. NEAR fatal. Not fatal. Michelle survived. She survived more than that crash. She survived so much more. She survived multiple surgeries, living in hospitals for five arduous months of pain, and living without her children for so long. Through it all, she never once gave up. Adapting to the new challenges of being a single mother to five-year-old Isabella and ten-year-old Angel in a wheelchair has definitely been a journey with its own sets of learning curves. Refusing to mother half-heartedly, the adjustment has required all of her focus and determination and she has been navigating her treatment steps little by little. She and her kids know that we will overcome this together. So they continue to push, learn, and adapt and on tough days, I see how my sister turns to her dreams for strength. She is attentive to the needs of Isabella and Angel and she musters the strength to show them the love and support they require. It takes determination, it takes will-power, and she never ceases to blow me away. We, as her family, will never take for granted the fact that she is here. We are thankful for her life. We are thankful for her relationship with her two amazing daughters, who, by God’s grace, still have their mother. Michelle may not be able to walk right now and the spinal cord injury may make doctors believe that she will never walk again, but this journey takes patience. Her body may need time and therapy to strengthen, but we pray that someday she will be able to run with her children again. I am not sure what the future holds for my sister, but I am confident that she will prevail if she can dwell in possibility. She will prevail if she can dream and feel inspired. I constantly ask God for her healing and have seen her slowly improve as she finds her strength in her daughters’ joy. The afternoons filled with sunshine and sparkles and little girl laughter mend her heart and give her purpose. Motherhood fuels her and for that reason, I want to give her a chance to feel like a normal parent again, like a parent who can give her children everything. Months ago, Michelle told me she saw a commercial about vacationing in Hawaii while laying in her hospital bed and she told herself that when she got out of the hospital, she would travel there with her kids. That goal gave her strength to keep pushing through and she pushed through more than I thought was even possible. She healed from a broken jaw, broken clavicles, broken ribs, collapsed lungs, a lacerated liver, lacerated hand, head trauma, and many broken vertebrates. Her healing process is far from over, but with a deep desire to give her children the best possible life and a chance to feel whole again, Michelle continues fighting every single day. It’s a new beginning for this beautiful family of three and if you’d like to help us make some new dreams possible[b], please contribute what you can. I just know I can’t do this alone! Together though, with prayer and generosity, we might be able to accomplish giving them a beautiful family trip! I want to leave you with pictures of some of the moments of joy we have had since all of the chaos and pain of that day. Thank you so much for your support. In Love, Carmen