Mary Ellen Smith

While I Was Sleeping: a True Story About Love, Hope and Determination Mary Ellen Smith

Publisher Marketing: I find it ironic that the types of books I like to read and movies I like to watch are about people who have been faced with less than favorable odds and yet were able to beat those odds. Little did I know that my life was about to become one of these stories. On March 5, 2010, I was admitted to the hospital with influenza A, pneumonia that quickly went into Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. I was given less than one percent chance of survival. At first I wasn't too keen on the idea of writing about my illness. I wondered if I really wanted to go back and recount, or continue to remember, this nightmare. Would writing about it maybe help me down the road? Would this be what I needed to do in order to heal emotionally? A nurse in my neurologist's office encouraged me to write my story because she said there never has been a book written about someone with Multiple Sclerosis who had gone through what I did and not have a flare up from this disease, let alone survive. So she gave me the incentive to tell my story in hopes that it would help others. I also thought about other families who might go through similar situations and who could get encouragement from my experience. Above all, I wanted to express my thanks to my husband, my children, and my friends and to my God for the help and encouragement they provided during my illness and my road to recovery. I hope this encourages you as well.