Hello Sunshine

                                  4.4.15

   

3.31.18

 This is from Ian.

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And on the fifth day she woke. I received a text or call that my wife was awake! They had pulled her out of the coma as they felt her body was ready to begin the long process of self-recovery and repair. She wasn’t whole yet, but she was ready to start. I was flooded with joy for very obvious reasons, and fear as to what damage had been done. I knew she was going to be confused, that medical staff would be in and out, that the room would be filled with bodies, so I waited as to not overwhelm and distract her.

A few hours later I made my way to the hospital ICU, not entirely sure what to expect. I peered around the corner as I walked in, she was laying in the bed, eyes barely open, speaking raspily and softly to the nurse in the room. The nurse saw me from the corner of her eye, then promptly pointed at me and said to Erin “Look who’s here!” Erin’s head turned softly in my direction as her eyes grew wide and one of the largest smiles I have ever seen came from her face. “Baby!” I don’t know how long I hugged her in that moment but it wasn’t long enough.

She was foggy from the coma while asking questions that, at the time, made no sense to me. She was asking things like “Is Jack (our dog) dead?” “How did my movie come out?” “Are my grandparents still alive?” and the classic “What year is it?” She didn’t believe anyone when we told her it was 2017, assuming we were lying to make her feel better. I was not able to stay long as she was still in the ICU and she had a long road to recovery from here, but I was content, she was happy, and we both recognize the miracle that occurred through the Doctors and medical staff that week. Over the course of the next two weeks she was undergoing almost every form of rehabilitation available. Her body had effectively shut down, her kidneys were technically in failure and she required dialysis for many months. Physical therapy was necessary several times a week and each session proved promising. Her throat was severely sore for a week due to the breathing tube they had used during her 5 day coma. Her body had to remember how to walk, how to hold items, how to sit up, and rebuild muscle tissue. Every day her head became less foggy as her strength increased. Three weeks after she woke we were heading home, regular dialysis was necessary, a few medications to aid her kidneys functions, and the second largest smile I have ever seen come out of her face.

Within 5 hours of returning home she expressed the desire to give gift baskets to cancer patients in hospitals. Cancer patients of any kind can typically stay within a hospital setting for extended periods of time, and obtaining items to help ease the stay can prove difficult, so she wanted to help them obtain those items they needed, and even some items to entertain. Within a week we had paid out of pocket for supplies and a container, with a specific individual in mind. Erin had hand picked everything, a truly custom tailored gift basket, and was very excited to deliver her work. I was not present for the delivery but when I saw her next she was overjoyed that her work was not only accepted, and happily so, but that she felt fulfilled in this act. She managed to bring a smile to someone’s face in a time when smiles are few and far between. Thus she began her great, God-driven campaign to aid those who are suffering from cancer, are seeing too few smiles, and too many dark clouds by bringing them a little bit of sunshine. Even now, during her bittersweet times of being almost one year cancer free while still battling new

grievous physical setbacks, her primary focus is on her own health, and ensuring others have

access to those little rays of hope.

Erin Lee Rajaniemi, you still don’t know how strong you are.

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