On October 18th, 2022 I got a phone call from an emergency psychiatric hospital in Buffalo. The social worker on the other end told me that my mom had been admitted to the hospital, and they were desperately trying to reach anyone who could help them understand where this woman who shared my last name was coming from. After 10 years of estrangement through circumstance, I finally heard my mom’s voice again. She had never kept a phone and was lost in the throes of debilitating psychosis for so long. I was unable to see her for years. This time though, her memory prevailed and she was able to remember my phone number to share with the case workers.Maybe it’s oversharing, but the story of my reunion with my mom has been one of the most harrowing and important developments in my adult life. Between her hospital discharge and today, I managed to get my mom a cell phone and she has been able to slowly figure it out. It feels like a miracle. She’s amazed and delighted by the ability to send text messages and the chance to keep a tiny camera in her pocket.
I wasn't sure I’d see the day where she would be able to regain and maintain the lucidity I had been grieving was lost for so many years. Her bravery, dignity and joie de vivre is so moving it brings me to tears. She explains she’s an optimist because she “was born in the spring”. On May 10th, heavens willing, we will celebrate her 68th birthday, at last, together.
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