Robyn, a Black teen, who survived after family was told she was braindead in 2007.

 

Good morning! I pray all is well. As many of you know, it was in October of 2007 that we were informed by a medical team of doctors that Robyn O. Edwards was braindead. I can remember it like yesterday. I remember how the words “braindead” wreaked havoc on my neurotransmitters – alarms were going off inside my head and then all of a sudden, I was numb. The pain was there but it was numbing, and I remember wanting to bash my head in a wall because of the numbing. I also remember asking God, “How are you going to fix this?”

I sat in a Neuro ICU for about 30 days, watching sick children and their families come and go. Some went back home with their families, and some went home with the Lord. I had several doctors tell me that “no one survives brain death.” On their morning rounds, If I shared something that I thought was positive, like Robyn moved a limb, they’d shake their heads and tell me it was only a spontaneous movement, nothing to be hopeful for.

Today when I look back, I know I wouldn’t have survived had the Lord not walked with me because not only did I have to deal with almost losing Robyn, but I also became painfully aware of the inherent dangers for Black people within doctor’s offices and medical facilities.
My post over the next few days will be on the Goodness of God and the silencing of Black women’s voices and the destruction of their children.

On a side note, I want to encourage everyone to get their vaccines. I struggled with trusting the vaccines as many of you did, but I decided that it was better to take a chance on the vaccine than someone at a medical facility deciding whether to save my Black body or someone else. So, I prayed about it and took it.

This morning I pray that God will comfort and give peace to the patients and families impacted by COVID-19. I pray for the healthcare workers who are overwhelmed by COVID-19, and I pray for those who’ve been confused because politicians have made taking the vaccine a political ploy. It’s sad that as a nation we never get it right when the choice is humanity vs political gains.