Credit: Valentin Tkach for The Washington Post
This is a beautiful story of love, faith, and family by a daughter from southern California who took her mother to Mecca to complete an Umrah pilgrimage (a condensed version of Hajj).
Her mother was diagnosed in 2021 with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) after three years of unexplained falls, minor car accidents, dropping things, asking nonsensical questions, and speaking like a drunk.
In the story, the daughter describes the ordeal of traveling by air and getting around Mecca by wheelchair. And, she says,
As much as I believe in science, I’m also a woman of faith, and if medicine hasn’t progressed enough yet to find a cure for progressive supranuclear palsy, then maybe showing up to God’s front door and asking him earnestly will.
In the end, the daughter writes,
Getting Mama to Saudi Arabia and helping her complete Umrah was one of the harder things I’ve had to do, but seeing the effect Mecca had on Mama overshadowed the complications. ‘I felt at rest. I felt the strength of my faith and I felt peaceful,’ Mama said.
Read the full story (behind the Washington Post paywall):
“A trip to Mecca was my mom’s last wish. It was full of grief and joy.”