Motherhood

“But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” – Luke 12:7.



People have been asking me, “how is motherhood?” I would like to ask back, “Is this how much everyone loves your kids?” The Bible verse that keeps popping up on my mind every time I look at my daughter is Luke 12:7, “but the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” Every time my daughter falls asleep in my arms, I stare at her face, just mesmerized. How could every inch of her be so cute? And yes, sometimes I count the hairs on her head or the number of lashes on her eyes. Motherhood has given me a deeper understanding of my parent’s love toward me and God’s love toward us, and it has strengthened my faith. My mother was right again. I understood when I become a mother.

Speaking of my mother, here are some of the descriptions of what my mother has used to describe the baby:

“I swear to you I have never seen a baby so beautiful in my life.”
“Just perfect, every part of her, so good looking.”
“I go sleep thinking of her, wake up thinking of her.”
“Every time I think of her, my heart jumps out of my chest.”
“An angel fell from heaven into your arms.”
“Like someone painted the most beautiful baby.”

Perhaps this baby is more meaningful to us because I waited so long and was a complete stunner for my mother. She was born a month before I turned 46. My mother has said she had given up on the idea of becoming a grandmother. To say that this baby has given a new leash on my mom’s life is an understatement. Some of you know she has been type 2 diabetic much of her life, and she reversed it twice using diet and exercise. And huge dose of stem cell therapy she received in Colombia brought her A1C down from 10.8 to 8.1. But her biggest culprit is carbohydrates. She just can’t seem to stop eating them, and when I tell her to reduce carb intake, it goes in one ear and goes out the other. Earlier this year, she got a CT scan, and it showed she had a prominent fatty liver. The doctor asked me if she was a drinker, and I told him no, she’s a carboholic.

I sent her some articles on non-alcoholic fatty liver, and the next day she told me, “I am going cold turkey. Cutting all carbs and sugar out.” Her reason? She has to “live long to watch that baby grow.” She not only went cold turkey but did a three-month protein shake cleanse and even hired a personal trainer to do strength training. The other day, she reported, “everything is normal.” Her blood pressure and morning glucose are all normal. She has even inspired me to lose the pandemic weight [10lbs!]. Time for myself is far less sparse with the baby, but somehow, I am finding time to take better care of myself. After all, I didn’t have this baby only to die early of diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.

And I see this with our patients as well. Many patients seek and start care for their chronic pain or neuropathy for altruistic reasons. They want to be able to walk and travel for their spouse and play with their grandchildren. Sometimes they are the sole caregivers for them. Their loved ones are the single biggest motivator and the reason why patients want to get healthy.

Who do you love so much that you want to count the number of hairs on their heads? Would you stop eating carb and sugar and start exercising so you can be around as long as you can, enjoying every moment of life with them? Can you think of a better reason to get healthy?

July 2021