Summary

They put her on life support (ECMO and ventilator) to let her heart and lungs rest. Two days later, due to complications with circulation in her leg she had to be rushed into emergency surgery to pull the catheter from the artery leading to her heart. This required taking her off of life support four days earlier than they had planned. We were informed she may not make it. Thanks to thousands of people praying for her, and her own indomitable spirit, she pulled through-but not without more complications.

A fever kicked in and lack of circulation in her other leg caused even more concern. Her heart and body were suffering greatly. As we prayed (and thousands of you from around the world prayed with us) I kept massaging and nuancing the exact melody line I wanted, at the same time interweaving various lyrics to intuit what felt right. I wanted this to be a song anyone could sing for their beloved family member or friend who was struggling. Every note, every syllable had to land just right-as if it was meant to be.

Through all this my mother was going through her own bit of personal anguish. We were basically waiting for my sister to die. Due to COVID regulations nobody, not even family, could visit her in ICU. My mother bought a plane ticket... just in case. We hoped beyond hope that, If she died, she would not die alone. I wanted to finish this song by Mother's Day to share with my mother and my dear struggling sister who is also a mother of 5. I finished it and sang it through tears on Mother's Day. 

I have many friends show speak Spanish who are going through very difficult times due to COVID-19 and the subsequent quarantine. The second time through is a carefully crafted Spanish translation. 

I hope to hear people singing this far and wide with, to and for each other.