Karim

Karim is my youngest child (my baby), but he is every inch of an amazing young man. I know every mother believes her child is special ha ha, but Karim has a heart of gold – he is such a kind, giving and loving soul. He also has commendable work ethics, making him respected among his peers who appreciate his devotion and passion for his work.

Karim had just turned 15 when I got the devastating diagnosis that I had ALS and that there was no cure for me. Naturally as a mother, my first instinct was to protect and shield him from worrying that he was about to lose his mother, so I hid some facts about the seriousness of my condition from him, actually I hid it from all my children. My fear of not being able to see him graduate from school, be there for his first day of university or help guide and support his decisions in life shook me to my core and left me feeling helpless and frustrated to say the least. I was overcome with fear, but thankfully, God had other plans for me; not only did I attend his high school and undergraduate degree graduations, but this summer I also got to witness Karim graduate from his Masters Programme. I believe in miracles so that’s why I plan to be around for future milestones in his amazing life, trust me I still have a lot of fight in me.

Karim now works with a big I.T. company in America that is teaching computer programming for refugees in the Middle East. To our delight, he was recently sent to the region to work for ten days in different refugee camps around Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, after which he got three days off to spend at home with us. Wow, talk about making use of our time together; for those 3 days he sat beside me holding my hand, stroking my hair, kissing my face while listening to each other’s stories – just good old fashion mother son quality time. It was like a taste of heaven, like God was sending us his angel to watch over our family.

Karim is constantly participating in different fund raisers in Philadelphia with the ALS Association, hoping to find a cure for me – bless him, we are such a hopeful family. He is always encouraging me to try new activities to cut down on watching TV; actually, it was his idea to start this blog! He set it up for me during one of his visits and showed me how easy it is – he said, “Mama, just write what you feel” and so I starting typing then he said to me, “Just tell us what you are thinking” and hence my blog was born.

Thank you habibi for teaching me how to fly by showing me how to be brave and spread my wings, allowing me to soar and expand my horizons. I love you so much my sweet Karim.

(Photo credit: Ali Saadi)