Rosie's Biography, Recovery and Future Hopes

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  Contents

• Top of Page                          
• Rosie's Mom (Faith Malek) on Rosie                          
• Aunt Sondra on Rosie

  My Daughter, Rosie                                        "About Rosie" Contents

Rosie was 16 at the time of her AVM hemorrhage, August 26, 2001. We were out camping overnight near our hometown, Faribault, MN. She is our only daughter. She was an A-B active student in a small private school, busy with friends and church activities, as we were also.

My daughter, Rosie, experienced a bleed from AVM, deep in her cerebrum, August 26, 2001. She did not have advance warning, just vomited, fell down, and was immediately comatose. She was airlifted to North Memorial, in the Twin Cities, and remained in a coma/drug induced coma for 2 1/2 weeks. Her brain pressure was very hard to keep down, and after day 5 as it shot upward, we were told she was probably not going to survive.....

The pressure began to come down, and after 4 weeks in NICU, she was released to another room. She had already 2 drains from her brain in and removed, and 2 permanent shunts, and a g-tube in her stomach for feeding, swallowing anything was very difficult. The gluing procedure was 100% successful to seal off the AVM, and recovery in therapy very slow.

We truly believe the touch of God has allowed Rosie to live through the worst possible, and prayer has moved His heart to deliver her from death, as well as given her the possibility of recovery through the gluing. We cannot describe to you the grief and hurt we as her parents have endured. She was an active girl, devoted to Jesus Christ, recently recommitting herself to him, and involved in every possible school activity she could cram into her schedule, and worked a part-time waitress job this summer.

By 12-5-01 Rosie was discharged, able to walk some with a walker, but mostly in a wheelchair. Right handed, she was unable to do much for herself, as her right side was most affected. Short term memory was non-existent, long term memory good. Her friends were most encouraging throughout the hospital stay, coming an hour's drive every week, sometimes twice/week to visit her. No speech yet, and her communication with a spelling board is not good either.

Discussion, comments, or questions: Faith Malek

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Aunt Sondra on Her Time with Rosie - June 2003 - February 2004  "About Rosie" Contents    What do you say when God sends you your very own angel? Thank you just doesn't seem to cut it.     When I moved here last year to be with family while Mark was in Korea I knew that being with Rosie would be special. I thought I'd get the chance to teach her to get along better in life and help fill her days with purpose. But as usual the teacher becomes the student.     Rosie has taught me more about patience, love, selflessness, giving, and receiving in the past 8 months than I've learned in a lifetime. She's helped me not to feel sorry for her. My heart aches sometimes for what might have been in her life, but 99% of the time she knows, without a doubt she has the life God wants her to have. She has moments when things don't make sense, why did this happen, why isn't she getting better faster, but ultimately she accepts what God has given her to deal with. Better than the rest of us do most of the time.     I've learned to take life slower with Rosie, rarely does she feel that things must move at the speed of light, partially because of her limitations, mostly because she has learned through them that some things just take more time.     She has given me the gift of being able to mother someone, taking up a space in my life that has long been on the back burner. After 4 miscarriages, several years ago I thought I would never have that chance again. But God, in his infinite timing brought me Rosie. Not because she needed a mother, but because I needed someone to love unconditionally, because God wanted me to see what that kind of love truly requires. It's surely made me a more patient and loving wife.     Being with Rosie has been one of the great blessings of my life. I have a beautiful niece to cherish, a friend to talk to when times get tough, a daughter to share my wisdom with and more love than I ever thought possible with someone I share no blood with. &    Thank you Rosie, for teaching me a few things about life I never would have learned were it not for your sweet presence in it. All my Love, Aunt Sondra