About 3 and half years ago I began gearing up to bring my son into this world. One day, about three weeks before my due date I came down with a very slight fever and feeling a bit off and slightly out of breath, but being nine months pregnant, who isn't? My Doctor advised me to go to the ER but I did not, but sometime in the night after not having slept a wink I decided I would go in and get checked out, little did I know that was the very best decision I could have made. In the next couple hours I was monitored and told they believed I had the H1N1 virus. My baby's oxygen levels started to drop (in utero) and I was sent for an Emergency C-Section. I had an extreme case of pneumonia. In the next 24 hours I was doing decently when, very suddenly, I had a coughing attack that I couldn't shake (the air went out, but was not coming back in), so much so, that I had to be intubated and put on a breathing machine, my pneumonia had taken a turn for the worse. They opted to put me into a medically induced coma so as to enable fast healing. Two weeks later I woke up thinking it was the same day as my C-Section, wondering where my son was. This, all, is my very reason for about a year and a half ago, I decided that I was not doing nearly enough to truly appreciate this life and to succeed in that life as best as I could. Rather than continuing on as just a stay at home mother to a wonderful boy, without actually considering that something could happen at any time, whether you expect it, plan for it, or get caught off guard. I knew then I needed to be able to care for him with or without the help of his father if something were to happen, and being a high school drop out with a GED was not going to cut it! In short, my situation was the catalyst driving me to seek self-improvement, and Rio Salado will be what gets me to my ultimate goal and late really is better than never. Attending Rio Salado gives me to opportunity to do a thing for myself that is supremely worthwhile to my own wellbeing and that of my son. I have the freedom to do this from home and care for Tristan which in my opinion is the most worthwhile part. Yes, graduating might take a long time, and yes there are MANY long nights and tired mornings but so far in life, I have never been more proud to be me and say "Yes, I am a student" with as much pride as I can say "Yes, I am a mother" because after all, I made it through it all to be able to say that.

Signed,
Erin Dempsey