Mothers, Marathons and Miracles

My daughter-in-law comes from a large family. She's very close to her cousins, two especially--Erika and Nicole. The day of the Boston Marathon, Nicole and her husband and Erika stood near the finish line waiting for their mother. Carole was running in the marathon to celebrate turning fifty. Her daughters and son-in-law flew from North Carolina and Maryland to cheer her on. They were full of all the possibilities of life, yelling and cheering for every person who finished the grueling race. Nicole's husband stepped about twenty feet away to snap pictures of Carole as she approached.

Then the first explosion hit.

Michael, a personal trainer, was temporarily blinded, suffered hearing damage and many shrapnel wounds. Nicole, a physical therapist, suffered severe shrapnel wounds, both legs had compound fractures and one Achilles tendon was severed. Her hair was blown off the back of her head. Erika, a pre-school teacher, lost all her hair and part of her leg. The bones in her other leg were splintered, sticking out from the skin, and her remaining ankle shattered. Her personal identification and cell phone were lost in the bombing. Erika was taken to a hospital as a Jane Doe. Nicole and Michael were transported to another hospital. In the ensuing pandemonium, Carole could not find Erika. Hours passed. She was calling every hospital, describing Erika as having long blonde hair, ignorant of the fact her daughter no longer had hair.

Michael's vision returned. Some of his hearing has also, but not all. He was released from the hospital forty-eight hours later and moved into Nicole's hospital room to help care for her. She's had five surgeries and was moved from the hospital to a rehabilitation facility yesterday. The family is elated with her progress. Erika hopes to be released from the hospital in June and will require a long time in rehabilitation. She's had nine surgeries. She talks to her students now via Skype and enjoys all their handmade get-well cards.

Mother-to-mother, my heart has long gone out to Carole and all the "what-if's" she's dealt with. Many days her daughters were operated on at the same time in two different hospitals across the city. Driving on unfamiliar highways from one to the other only added to her physical and emotional exhaustion. Yet Mothers do "whatever" for their children. We push ourselves to help and show love. Carole's sisters flew to Boston to help lessen her burden.

Everyone in the family appreciates the miracle of life. The miracles of healing and love. The miracle of prayers and the strenth of emotional support.

My son, Mike, is on the right, wearing a green shirt. His hand is on my grandson's shoulder. To the left of Ryan is Erika in pink. Nicole is to the left of her, wearing a Ravens jersey. My daughter-in-law is next to her.

MOTHERS TRULY ARE FABULOUS!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

A Day To Be Remembered...Again

I have lived in the Boston area for the last twenty-nine years. My husband is from Boston and it’s our home. What a beautiful day Monday was. After an awfully cold and bitter winter, it was great to enjoy a day of sunshine, baseball and the Boston Marathon. Anyone that lives in this area understands the magnitude of the marathon, even if you have never run a race in your life.

My hubbie was off for the day. It was a holiday in Boston- Patriot’s Day. We watched the Red Sox win with a walk-off double against Tampa Bay. I called my mom. Right after I talked with her, she called right back and wanted to know if my kids were okay. Okay? I hadn’t a clue what she was talking about. I turned on the television. The next moment, the whole of the terror reigned down on me. Immediately, my husband was on the phone. Thank goodness everyone in my family was accounted for and was safe. Not all families were so lucky. In a blink of an eye, life changed once again.

For me the memory of September 11^th was vividly relived. My husband lost friends on a one of the flights from Boston. I remember every detail of that day as I’m sure I will Monday. Besides my writing, I work at a major hospital in Boston that received victims of the bombing. When I got to work that night, I had to walk through a barrage of police offices. Quite surreal. It puts life in perspective.  

EMBRACE OF THE ENEMY

Embrace of the Enemy—the second book in my series, Winds of Betrayal, is free today and tomorrow. Amazon offers these free days as a promotion to help with your sales. It’s a great way for readers to get a taste of your writing.

 Honestly, I feel strange running a promotion right after the bombing at the Boston Marathon. When you set your date for the promotion, you also set dates to promote your book. So the promotion is on going. Sometimes you make money from your promotion; other times you don’t. But I made a decision. Not only will I donate any money I make from Embrace of the Enemy but also the other books of the series. Winds of Betrayal is set during the American Revolution. It was inspired by American Patriots. So it’s appropriate.

All sale proceeds from the Winds of Betrayal Series from April 16, 2013- April 21, 2013 will be donated to the American Red Cross to benefit the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing. This will include all three books of the series—The Cry For Freedom, Embrace of the Enemy, and Kiss of Deceit.

If the series doesn’t interest you, I encourage you to donate to the American Red Cross. ARC has always been there for us.