In the autumn of 2013, I woke up in a hospital room and noticed that I had an awfully hard object inside of the right side of my abdomen and I could barely move the left side of my body. I soon learned that the hard object was the right side of my skull. A doctor decided to remove it during my first surgery, in order to give my brain room to swell after the blood from a large hemorrhage began to create havoc. I felt a lot of pain on the left side of my body, attributable to muscle tightness. I was disoriented and yearned for familiarity and comfort. The faces of my parents and my brother, Dave, brought me great comfort, but the face that made me feel safe was Jessica’s.
I dealt with all kinds of rehabilitation with incredible therapists, but I couldn’t grasp exactly what had happened to me. I always tried hard in the various therapies because I had diligently worked at everything that I have done in my life. I did this out of pride and for my young kids, who were, and still are, my purpose. They watched me very closely.
Marsha Berman 