My mother, Luana, was a very compassionate and beautiful person. She was nurturing and attentive to me and my three younger sisters. When I was 12 years old, a friend of mine from school committed suicide and my mother was there with me to comfort me and make me feel better. Having been exposed to something so tragic at a young age, I’m glad my mother was there to explain things to me. She cared about people so much that she spent a lot of her time volunteering at a nursing home. My grandmother became really sick and my mother made my grandmother move in with us so she could take care of her. My grandmother was diagnosed with dementia.
Dementia is a very hard disease to deal with especially when it’s a close relative. My mother was patient and compassionate with my grandmother, never losing her patience with her. She instilled this quality in me. My mother was eager to learn new things. I can remember her going to college to become a nurse while raising three daughters, working two jobs, one as a waitress and the other a go-go dancer to help pay the bills and her college. She did all this by herself as a single mom. She became sick at the age of 30 with a heart condition, but this didn’t stop her from continuing college and becoming a nurse.
She was very talented also. She learned to sew and was an awesome cook. She made most of mine and my two sisters’ clothes, once again because she was a single struggling mother. I remember her trying to teach me to Hula dance; needless to say I never mastered it. Although I did master some of the recipes she taught me, such as lasagna and Indian fry bread. Three years have gone by; my mother was at the time 33 years old working in a hospital, taking care of myself and now another sister is added to our group. She now had 4 daughters. On July 20, 1980 my mother wasn’t feeling very well so she lay down for a couple hours.
My aunt had come over to visit so we all went out for lunch. My mother had a heart attack and she passed away in the car on our way home after having lunch. My mother was an inspiration to me and my motivator to be successful. I have pretty much followed in her footsteps. I was a single mother of four children working two jobs to care for my family. I am now married and all my children are grown and gone on to make their families. I also had a heart attack and was without oxygen for 45 minutes with brain damage and was in a coma for two weeks. Doctors told my family that I would never recover.
I woke up from my coma and had to learn to walk and talk all over again. I have overcome all that they said I wouldn’t be able to do. My mother instilled in me to be a fighter and not give up on my dreams. So here I am in college to become a nurse just as my mother was. In conclusion, my mother had many qualities that motivate me such as being compassionate, eager to learn new things, beautiful, talented and nurturing. My mother has been gone for 34 years now and still to this day she is my motivation and my hero. I miss and love her very much.
