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My mother, Lupe Villa, shows resilience, strength of spirit
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Almost three years ago, my mother was diagnosed with colon cancer and survived it. But this year, she developed a condition in the colon wall that needed to be excised.
Today, Mother is home after almost three months of hospital and rehabilitation care and recovery. However, in between, she survived a savage staph infection she got in the hospital.
Her painful struggle to persevere over the infection exacted some primal thoughts of mine as to the very essence of my mom's life. My mother's imperfections disappeared in forgiveness. Her strengths glowed as a true warrior of life, a perspective she bestowed on all of her seven children.
I remember telling my madre repeatedly that you can lessen the pain and its effect by accepting it. Her liquid-filled lungs, swollen body, graying skin color triggered thoughts of her possible passing.
Would "Grandma Lupe" miss the October marriage of her granddaughter (daughter of my deceased brother, Ernie) or the birth of her first great-great-grandchild later this year or my Tia Lucy Contreras' 100th birthday in December and my own 60th birthday in January?
I was unnerved for a while, but it didn't last long. Mama raised a "mama's son," not a "mama's boy."
My mom taught me to be responsible, forgiving and honest.
Madre made me realize early on that life is too serious to take it seriously, to always be able to discover humor in even the most difficult of life situations
The staph infection was no joke. However, when my mom defeated the infection, I smiled freely as I bragged about my mom "winning the war."
My mom has been home for two weeks now. She is getting stronger slowly. At age 83, Lupe Villa, an original Oxnard resident, will be encouraged to regain normalcy and "un gusto" for the song of life she bestowed in my own singing voice.
Happy Mother's Day, Mom.
— Daniel E. Contreras lives in Oxnard.
Posted by lthrnek on May 11, 2008 at 5:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Having survived one of those terrible staph infections after surgery, I can testify to the fact that beating them is, in fact, a war. Not much is remembered from those two solid weeks in ICUs but at times, there were three or four different colored little bags of IV fluid flowing into me to kill one bug at a time. It's a long road back Mrs. Villa but it can be done. Good luck and get well soon.
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