Eye Opener

                      When you realized how important life really is you start to cherish every moment with the people you love

           One of the most meaningful experiences I have had as an adult has to be when my nephew was in a car accident. Last summer it all started with a phone call at six in the morning, from my mom crying and barley able to speak. All I heard my mom mumble was “Gavin is in ICU” Gavin is my eight year old nephew and I have been a big part in his life since birth, also my brother and our family have been having custody issues. When I arrived at Texas Children’s Hospital his mother started to explain that they were hit by a drunk driver. While at a red light the drunk driver was exiting the freeway and slammed into the back of her car. Everyone got out of the mangled car except my nephew he was trapped on the floor board between the seats. The fire fighter had to use the Jaws of Life to cut him free from the car. He was then taken by life flight to Texas Children's Hospital in downtown Houston.

           My poor nephews fore head was clasped as well as his right eye socket he went through several hours of facial reconstructive surgery. Thank god there was no brain damage only minor damage and swelling to his frontal lobe. Hours after his surgery he was talking and within four days he was walking around. 

           Gavin now only has a scar from ear to ear and now brags about how tough he is because of it. This experience changed me in multiple ways by, teaching me to cherish my family and to stop taking life for granted. While sitting in that ICU waiting room I realized that nothing mattered to me every problem, stress, and drama I had before this seemed so small and petty. Experiences like this make you see what is really important in life. This event changed my perspective on life I now see that someone you love can be taken away from you in a drop of a dime. So I learned to value the time with people I love and be thankful for the life I have. My family became even closer after almost losing my nephew. Finally, we realized that all that fighting over him and visitation problems did not matter all that really mattered was he still alive. Through this tragic nightmare my family and I were able to see the big picture that life is fragile treasure the people you care for the most. They say kids heal faster than adults, boy that is true!

Research paper

For my research paper I plan to expand my first essay on my analytical response to the novel stitches. I want to explain the effects on children growing up with a mentally ill mother, and how mental illnesses can affect the parent’s ability to provide a good environment for their children. I plan on revising my stitches essay by proving that children dealing with a mentally ill mother have more life problems and face more discrimination. I plan to prove that not all children follow in the same footsteps as their parents. Some children with mentally ill mothers do not always end up with the same mental illness as their mother. I will prove that some children take a different route in life turning their bad situation into something good. In my first essay I discussed how David’s dysfunctional upbringing allowed him to undergo self discovery, and find his inner voice. With my research I want to discuss the difficulties with living with a mother suffering from a mental illness. I will talk about the neglect and abuse David went through due to his mother’s illness and careless mistakes. I will begin to expand my essay, but first I will need to revise the original stitches essay by fixing comma splices and run on sentences. 

          I found a couple of article one is the “Experiences of motherhood when suffering from mental illness” from the International Journal of Mental Health. I want to expand my stitches essay by explaining how difficult it is growing up with a mentally unstable parent. I will prove that David Small’s mother actions were caused by her untreated mental illness and her own dark past. I found a passage that would help support my statement it reads, “There is strong evidence that mothers with mental illness struggle with conflicting and distressing feelings, due to dual demands related to motherhood and the challenges of living with mental illness” (Abrams & Curran 2009; Rørtveit et al. 2010).