On March 8th, 2018, my mother, Satoko "Sophie" Utsunomiya, suffered a severe brain hemorrhage while on a business trip in Miami. She was initially admitted to the hospital for a severe nosebleed that required a relatively routine embolization to stop the bleeding. The procedure shockingly triggered multiple ischemic strokes that then converted to a large hemorrhagic stroke damaging the left side of her brain. In order to save her life, the doctors performed an emergency craniotomy and my mother's chances of survival were slim. Following the procedure, she was in a coma and a vegetative state for several weeks. Her initial prognosis was bleak--a 2/3 chance of dying or never leaving a long-term care facility and a 1/3 chance of eventually making it home. The damage to her brain left her completely paralyzed on the right side of her body. She also lost her ability to speak and was left with very little cognitive abilities. As the days and weeks went by, my mother showed small signs of improvement and was eventually transferred from the ICU at Aventura Hospital to Memorial South Rehabilitation Center where she underwent 2 months of intensive physical, occupational and speech therapies.

My mother had to regain all the things we take for granted--memory, breathing, swallowing, eating, drinking, walking, seeing, thinking, speaking, singing, etc. Through the amazing work of the doctors, nurses, therapists and staff at Memorial South, my mother made great strides and slowly regained her strength. On May 31st, 2018, my mother was well enough to fly back home to NYC. Nearly a year has passed since her stroke and my mother still continues to work hard at therapy on a daily basis. Although her road to recovery is long, her grit and determination hasn’t wavered. Even after getting her way of life, independence, job, and passions taken away from her, my mother has never looked back, has never fell into the traps of self-pity, and is determined to get back to where she once was.

My family owes a lot to Memorial South and the great people that have dedicated their lives to helping patients like my mother. The work they did for her goes without saying, but they also had a profound impact on my father and me. Their constant positivity and support scooped us from the darkest of places. As immigrants, my parents and I are the only family we have in this country and I can't thank Memorial South enough for keeping us whole. We owe them more than words can express.

On May 18th, I will be running the Brooklyn Half Marathon to raise money for Memorial South so that they can continue to their mission to save lives and help families. My family and I would be so grateful for your donation. The money we raise will go a long way.

As we all face our own hurdles in life in varying degrees, remember to always maintain perspective, never look back and know that we are all a lot stronger and resilient than we think.

-Tok