How do you stay resilient in hard times?

“I had open heart surgery on June 16, 2026. That was 21 weeks and 4 days ago now, almost five months.

Certain things stand out from when I came out of surgery. One was hearing my family. Each one of them talked to me and held my hand. The funny thing is, I could not see them.

I was also intubated, so I could not talk or see, but I could feel the love from my family. And squeezing their hand was my way of reassuring them.

My son said, ‘Hi Mom,’ and grabbed my hand.

Those moments stayed with me from when I first got out of surgery. When I woke up again that night and was panicky about the tube down my throat, thinking of them calmed me down. Talking to myself helped me stay grounded about what was going on, and how I knew I could still breathe, still hear, somewhat see.

That night, when the nurses were talking to me, I could just see what I made out as the designs in the ceiling. My vision was just coming back.

It was so weird. Hearing them first, feeling their hands, and then the seeing catching up a little later.

I have come a long way since then.

Have you ever had a moment like that, where you could hear and feel the people you love before you could see them?”