Like the weather the past few days, life the past four months has been mostly cloudy with rain and an occasional downpour. The sun rarely broke through Monday and Tuesday. But that didn’t keep me from smiling. Why? Because of all the “no’s” I’ve heard the past few days in relation to my son who endured a traumatic brain injury earlier this year. In fact, I’ve never smiled so much in hearing “no” so often. Therapists, nurses, and CNAs told... Read more

There’s a saying that goes, “Neurons that fire together wire together.” We are hoping that for my son Christopher, who experienced a devastating brain injury in January. There is some scientific grounds for thinking and hoping in this way. According to a news release of a UCLA study a few years ago, “When the brain’s primary ‘learning center’ is damaged, complex new neural circuits arise to compensate for the lost function…” We are praying that such firing and rewiring takes place... Read more

I would have never thought I would be asking for prayer that my son Christopher would develop a stiff neck, as in “bull neck” (thick and strong)—not to be confused with being bull-headed. My son has lost so much muscle tone due to the absence of active movement resulting from his traumatic brain injury. It is really so hard to see and imagine given what great shape he was in prior to his injury. At least, his lungs and heart... Read more

Most days and nights, I quote Psalm 23 and a few other passages of Scripture to my son Christopher at his bedside. He has been lying in a comatose state for four months now. Repeating the words of this psalm is even better than counting sheep. I’ve never met a shepherd, so I have no first-hand experience with this agrarian—and what some might think of as an antiquated—profession. Moreover, about the only time I come across sheep is at the... Read more

My son Christopher, who endured a traumatic brain injury in January, and who has been in a comatose state since then, has been breathing on his own since early February. He has not needed a ventilator from that point on, except perhaps on one precautionary occasion. So, at least for a time, there is no more need to play the Rolling Stones’ haunting, eerie, and hard-driving song, “Ventilator Blues” (played here). I thought about this song while reading Job 34... Read more

My family and I have been learning a great deal about the importance of advocacy since my son Christopher’s traumatic brain injury in January, emergency surgery, and comatose state. Since he cannot speak and care for himself at the present time, a great many care givers advocate for him and his well-being. Their regard for his well-being as advocates stand out to me on Ascension Sunday with Pentecost a week away. Although I recently published a book on the liturgical calendar,... Read more

We often take for granted the necessities of life, like fresh air, clean water, and good nursing care. Where would any of us be without these necessary ingredients to human flourishing? Where would you and I be if someone did not nurse us as infants? Where would my own family be if we did not have good nurses caring for my son in his comatose state resulting from a traumatic brain injury suffered over three months ago? As some of... Read more

People who spend a lot of time together often resemble one another in different ways, including mannerisms and character traits. That’s even more true in the case of mothers and their children. After all, they raised them. For moms, every day is Mother’s Day. Mothers never retire from being moms. They continue to raise their kids in one way or another. It’s a fulltime job. This year’s Mother’s Day is like no other, as our son Christopher lies in a... Read more

I have been reading the Book of Job the past few days. This book was next up on my Bible read-through. I must confess that it’s not easy for me to get through Job, especially now in view of my son Christopher’s traumatic brain injury and three-plus month comatose state. Still, I can’t imagine what the Bible would be like without this book. In fact, it is a timely word that brings healing to me at this critical time. In... Read more

I have always found major transitions in life to be mind-warping  and destabilizing experiences. The transitions after graduation from college and graduate school and doctoral studies, including moves from the U.S. to Japan to England and back and forth between the U.S. and Japan, were quite agonizing in various ways. There were times I felt as if we were riding Hokusai’s great wave off Kanagawa in one of the boats pictured here. Thinking back on it now is enough to... Read more