I moved to another city for my work and was busy adapting to the new environment.
“Da-un, Mom got hurt in an accident.”
One day, I received the phone call from my sister. My heart dropped. I talked with her over the phone just two days ago. I couldn’t believe that she got into an accident. Saying that she broke her thigh bones and had to undergo surgery, my sister sniveled in the end.
While I was going home on the bus, my mind was complicated, thinking, ‘How serious is it? Will she have to move to a bigger hospital? What if she cannot have surgery quickly?’
Upon arriving at the terminal, I ran straight to the hospital. My mom was lying down with one of her legs put on a splint and with a bandage around it. Her thigh bones were broken into two or three pieces and were completely dislocated; they had to be revised and knit together because they were dislocated in the opposite direction. On top of that,
they said the surgery would be difficult because of her weak bones. Feeling rushed, I asked all my acquaintances for a hospital where she could have her surgery quickly, but the only answer was to wait for at least a week.
The only thing I could do was to stay with her by her side. It was frustrating without having any solution. However, shamefully, I fell asleep; while sitting on a folding bed for caregivers, I fell asleep. When I opened my eyes, my mom was looking at me with her swollen face.
“Oh, instead of taking care of you, I fell asleep. I’m sorry, Mom.”
“It’s fine. You are my vitamin. I gain strength just by seeing you. Maybe, you feel relaxed because you came home after a long time. Hospital is uncomfortable for you. Go home and sleep there for tonight.”
My mom worried about whether the bed was uncomfortable for me rather than about her pain.
Fortunately, her surgery was scheduled quickly. I asked my sister to look after her and went back to my place.
My sister texted me that the surgery went well and sent me two photos. They were the photos of my mom’s bruised skin full of dark red spots formed after the blood vessels had burst. Her blood vessels burst during the surgery because of the pressure she made while putting excessive strain on her whole body to endure the pain. The photos showed her pain that could not be eased even by the general anesthetic. All of a sudden, I remembered Heavenly Father who prayed until His sweat was like drops of blood. How can I fathom the love of both my physical parents and my Spiritual Parents who endured the extreme pain for Their children?
On the day when my mom makes a full recovery, I want to walk with her in the breeze, holding her hands.