My Grandma's Last Christmas Wish

If you look past the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, you might be lucky enough to see the magic that sometimes allows for miracles to happen. From time to time, we hear of how people are able to tap into that magic and draw strength to overcome the odds that are stacked against them. During the holiday season of 2007, my Grandma was able to grab a thread of the magic that weaves itself into the days around Christmas and defy medical logic. I learned to believe in the Christmas wish.

Near the end of 2007, my Grandma entered the hospital. She had severe medical problems that would be too extensive to list here. They were progressed by the fact that she had reached 97 years of age. She was listed as day-to-day; the doctors and family believed she had reached her final days. The family was gathered because medical science could not figure out a way to prevent her body shutting down.

I remember standing next to her hospital bed and being overwhelmed with sadness as I realized that the woman who meant so much to me would not be able to see my daughter born the following March. Everyone else left the room for a few moments so that we could have some time alone. What I thought was going to be the last time that I spoke to my Grandma actually began a lesson in perseverance and an introduction to that holiday magic that we all talk about but rarely see.

My Grandma looked at me and said, "They all think that this is the end. There is no way that I am going before your baby is born. I still have a Christmas wish left in me." She brought up the old stories about how wishes that were made around Christmas had a better chance of being granted. Grandma told me that her Christmas wish was to see her grandchild's child and to hold her. While I wanted to believe her, I found myself still doubting both the power of the season and the strength that she had left.

Over the next few days, her strength came back and she was soon able to leave the hospital. The word "miracle" was circulated around by the doctors and nurses. At every chance, Grandma was telling me about how the magic of the season was going to make her Christmas wish come true. She knew that she was on borrowed time, but she was going to make the most of it.

On March 31, 2008, Maia Emily was born. After a few weeks, my wife and I were able to take her to my parents' house for my Grandma to see her new great-grandchild. As you would expect, I was reminded about how the wishes of the holiday season are more likely to come true. That beautiful woman was able to defy the odds by using her last Christmas wish.

Alice Shaw was finally released from her pain and suffering in June of that year. It was the strength that she gained from her last Christmas wish that kept her going. Whenever anyone tells me that there is no real magic around Christmas, I smile and think about the proof that I got.