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Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Annemiek Mullenders (66)

-battered-(triptych)

Annemiek writes:

After some time of feeling unwell, one day I just lost consciousness and woke up three weeks later in the ICU at the hospital. I was on life support and hooked up to many other devices. I couldn’t do anything and didn’t understand what was going on. My body battered: a large untidy scar where my chest was cut open and tubes and wires going in and out of it. What happened was, I had a massive pulmonary embolism and multiple cardiac arrests, CPR, lack of oxygen causing brain damage, a 7-hour emergency heart/lung surgery with complications and organ failure and residue damage to my muscles and nerves as sequelae. So I was told. Nobody expected that I’d ever wake up at all. I'm (still) confused and in a lot of pain. After a difficult rehabilitation, two years later, I’m trying to find out who this new person is that I became and what I still cán do with all my (new) limitations. Gently, carefully I’ve started to paint, draw, cut, paste and I’m finding a way to process it all.

This triptych shows my body with its scars like faces showing the emotions I went through: surprise/incomprehension - confusion /anger – acceptance/surrender.