My mom, Monica, was shot in the head when she was 20 years old. A new mom, she had left her husband shortly after their baby was born and obtained a restraining order.
Months later, after obtaining a gun that was legally purchased, he found her. He fired twice, missing the first time and striking her right temple the second time. He then sped from the scene, leaving her for dead. My grandmother raced to a neighbor’s house to call 911.
My mom ultimately survived, but she spent weeks in a coma. When she woke up, the doctors told her her baby was okay — but she didn’t remember she had a baby to begin with. The bullet irreparably damaged her memory and personality. In addition to suffering a Traumatic Brain Injury, my mom lost one eye and her sense of smell, and she lives in constant pain. I now take care of her. So, in a way, I am a mother to my own mom, who lost the ability to parent her own child and cannot take care of herself.