Last Christmas I really wanted a key necklace from Tiffany & Co., but I came across The Giving Keys and decided I wanted to customize my own necklace. I chose to have it engraved with VICTORY - that's what my name means. My mom got me one and I was beyond excited. I got a lot of compliments and a lot of questions. I loved my necklace and didn’t want to give it away.
June 26, 2013, I woke up at 6:30am (before everyone else) to get ready for work just like any other day. 11am comes around and I get a text from my mom saying she went to the ER. She'd had 3 strokes last night. But she told me she was feeling better, and that the doctors were going to let her come home the next day.
I was beyond shocked. I couldn't believe what was going on, but I stayed at work and decided I would go see her right when I got off since the hospital was only a few minutes away. The next day she didn’t get to come home. She woke up at 4am screaming for the nurse. She soon to found out that she had bleeding in her head and had had a couple more strokes. The doctor told my dad that they'd have to perform brain surgery on her or she wouldn’t make it.
I woke up again, not knowing what was going on… I started taking pictures of our dogs and sent them to my mom telling her we missed her and we were ready for her to come home. My dad texted me from her phone to tell me she was in surgery and that I should take today off of work to come to the hospital. Her surgery went well. The doctors didn't think she was going to make it this far.
A couple days went by, and she was doing great. She couldn’t talk, but she would smile, and move her leg around. Later that week, I realized if anyone needed "victory" right now it would be her. I gave her my necklace, praying she would overcome this battle.
Two weeks later, on July 11th, my mom went to be with the Lord. My mom didn’t smoke, didn’t drink, she was healthy. She worked 40+ hours at PrimeLending, was a pastor at Covenant Church, raised 3 kids, and was the owner of a dance studio.
I know she was victorious and is having a great time up in heaven. But of course I'm still having a hard time and can't believe she no longer here.
-Nichole
