The Witness of a Miracle by Ashia

The Witness of a Miracle by Ashia - June 2014 Scholarship Essay

There are countless numbers of books written focusing on the lives of an individual. Some are inscribed to entertain, inform, or simply because the writer thought their life was interesting enough to grant others insight about it. If I could write a book about anything, I would write a book to inspire others; I would write a book about my sister Mariah and her miraculous life. The main reason I want to write a book about her is because of all the challenges she faced in her life but did not live long enough to share. As her sister, I feel it is my duty to share the miracle I have witnessed and hope that it will inspire others.
When I was 8 years old doctor’s discovered that my older sister Mariah, who was 12 at the time, had a brain aneurism and she needed to have brain surgery to stop it from getting bigger and causing problems. When she first told me she had an aneurism I didn’t exactly know what that was, or what the outcome of having one would be so I started crying. Mariah just laughed and told me she would be ok, all she needed was brain surgery. Sure enough, about a week later she went to Valley’s Children Hospital to have brain surgery. The neurosurgeon put clamps on the aneurism. Within seven days Mariah recovered and was back to her normal self.

Two years later the aneurism grew back, she needed surgery once again. For this surgery, the doctors sent her to the University of San Francisco (UCSF) Children’s Hospital. The surgeon in San Francisco realized that the physicians in Fresno misdiagnosed her and she actually had a brain tumor. The surgeons at UCSF performed surgery to remove the growing tumor. About three weeks later she recovered and returned home.

Two years after her second surgery, the tumor grew back. This meant she would have to endure another surgery. The outcome of this surgery was very different from the last; she was unable to speak, eat, and had to rely on a wheel chair to get around. Mariah was having difficulty breathing, so the doctor put in a tracheostomy (trach), which is a surgical procedure in which he made an incision on the front of her neck and opened a direct airway through the trachea. She did not let these complications stop her from completing her goals. She continued to pursue her education, graduating from high school with her graduating class in June of 2009, with a grade point average of 3.8.

During the summer of 2009 our family went on vacation. After two weeks of traveling across the country we were on our way home, passing through Denver, Colorado, when Mariah started having complications breathing in the car. In a state of panicking, we pulled over to the side of the rode. My father called 911 but he was unable to focus enough to hold a conversation and I had to talk to the operator. At that point it seemed as though my whole family went insane. My Mother and oldest sister started performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on Mariah. All I remember is seeing my family’s tears, and hearing their cries out to God. Finally, the Highway Patrol came and they closed down the highway so the helicopter could land with the paramedics. They airlift Mariah to the nearest hospital where she would lay in a coma, on life support, for about a week and a half. This felt like the longest time of my life. On August 5, 2009 the doctors informed us that Mariah was pronounced brain dead, and taking her off the machines would be the best for her situation. When we were allowed to go into her room to say our final goodbyes I grabbed Mariah’s hand, but remained silent, I knew if words came out tears would fall also. A million thoughts were rushing through my head. I thought about all of our childhood memories, the past surgeries, and how she would always make it through. Finally, I gained enough strength to say a few words. I told her I loved her with all my heart and kissed her hand goodbye.

Mariah's 18 years of life has been a great inspiration to me, and if I could share her story I know she would inspire others as well. A book sharing the aspects of my sister Mariah’s life, along with how her life affected me as an individual, is just what some people may need in order to keep moving forward in life. Mariah faced various obstacles in life but she never once relinquished. She has instilled in me to never give up, even when challenges seem impossible to overcome and she showed me anything is possible if I set my mind to it. She has also taught me that no matter how good or bad I think life is, I should wake up each morning and be thankful for it because someone, somewhere, is fighting to survive. I hope that one day I will be able to write and publish a book about Mariah’s miraculous life with confidence that it will have as great of an impact on the reader as it has had on my life.