This is my mom, Marsha. She is the most beautiful woman ever. I may be biased but I’m pretty sure she is.

She was pregnant in this photo with my brother Nicholas. Regina (my twin) and I were just 5 years old. Shortly after “Nick” was born she was diagnosed with leukemia and one year later she passed away. Regina and I were 7 years old and Nick was just over a year old.

The memories I have of her are few but the ones I do have are golden. I only have a few photos of her and I share this picture a lot. This picture is powerful and I consider it a love letter from heaven, from her to me.

As I have grown and put the breadcrumbs together, from stories that others have shared about her and what her hopes for us were. It all makes sense.

You don’t need words for what her wish for me was because it’s written clearly on our faces in this photo.

Her wish was for me to grow from this determined five year old little girl just learning to navigate life’s terrain of bumps and barriers in a wheelchair into an independent, resourceful, adaptable, strong, capable woman.

I honor her most powerful and important life in the work I do today. The lessons she taught me in the short time we were together are the foundation of my life, and these lessons of empowerment are the platform from which I build the messages I deliver today.

I honor her today by giving back through the advocacy work I do.

Happy Mothers Day Mommy!

ID: Alycia and her mom in a wedding pushing her wheelchair down a rocky road carrying flowers