Content Warning
This may appear to be an obvious warning, but there is a fair amount of medical trauma in the following pages. This involves a fifteen-year-old girl and primarily records my perspective as her father.
There are also a few references to Harry Potter. I have struggled with this as I have become aware of the views, statements, and even actions of the creator of that series. At the time, it was unknown to us, so we have a complicated relationship with the series. I want to clarify that we no longer support the artist, but as this is recording actual events and experiences, it is vital to record the good and the bad. I also want folks to know this will be mentioned a few times.
Forward
When my daughter, Megan, lay dead in the ER, I remembered a passage from the Bible. In this passage, Jarius, the ruler of the synagog, went to Jesus, begging him to come and heal his daughter. On the journey to Jarius’ home, there was an interruption from someone else desperate for a miracle. After they continued on the path, a servant came and told Jarius that his daughter was dead.
Jesus cautioned Jarius, “Do not fear, only believe.”
As they approached the house, the mourners were loud and mocked Jesus when he said, “She is only sleeping.” After Jesus dismissed the crowd, he went to see the little girl with Peter, James, John, Jarius, and the girl’s mother.
He took the girl’s hand and spoke the words, “Talitha cumi,” which means “Little girl, rise up.”
Immediately, she got up and began walking.
As this story came to my mind, I began praying this over my little girl. When we were allowed into the trauma room to see her, covered with a bloody spray that had aspirated from her mouth while they did CPR and lying lifeless, I took her hand and spoke, “Talitha cumi!” These words became a war cry through my prayers for nearly four months till she was home with us.
This is why the title of the book is Talitha Cumi.
The second part of the title is because Megan went toe to toe with death, and she lived.
We have enjoyed the Harry Potter series as a family. We started reading the series when my wife was in the hospital after surgery for an ectopic pregnancy. It was helpful to disappear into a fantasy world where there is good and evil, but good wins.
Megan enjoyed the movies as a child, but our trip to Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, cemented the world of Harry Potter as a great joy in her life. We visited the Wizarding World at Universal, along with other attractions. While there, we stopped by Olivander’s. This is part show and part shop. She had been to the Bibity Bobbidi Boutique at Disney the day before. Her hair was still up in a tight bun, and I’m pretty sure there is glitter from that to this day. Several people at Universal greeted her as “princess” throughout the day. It’s a term of endearment I’ve always used for her.
At Olivander’s, Megan was chosen for the wand ceremony. This reenacts the scene where Harry is chosen by his wand. The store representative picks a child from the audience and then gives them some wands to try. “Give it a wave!” And a potted plant wilts, then some wands are shaken, or other disasters happen until the clerk says, “I wonder…” picks a wand and solemnly presents it to Megan. Suddenly, there is a spotlight on her, and a breeze blows along with magical music.
It’s a great experience, and it was so fun to watch Megan chosen for it. Of course, we had to buy that wand because it chose her.
A couple of years later, we went back when she was 10. This time, she was chosen again! She went on and on about it, so we got a special letter from Hogwarts for her birthday a few months later. She was accepted as a student. It included the letter, her year-one supply list, a ticket for the Hogwarts Express, and a feather. This made a great birthday memory, and she asked many times how she would get to Diagon Alley for her supplies and to Kings Cross to get on the train. I think she was a bit disappointed to start muggle middle school.
Megan has been obsessed with all the nerdy and geeky things since. Harry Potter, Stranger Things, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia, …. It’s all good to her and captures her imagination.
Harry is the “boy who lived” because he survived a killing spell as a baby.
Megan is the girl who lived because she survived a battle with death at the very threshold of death’s domain. She has the scars to prove it, too.
This book is a record of that battle. Most of the first part is about my experience. Megan had no memories of the day of her heart attack or anything else until she began to be able to speak weeks later. The second part includes chapters from her own experiences in her own words.
This book can be brutal. So many terrible things happen. It is full of grief and pain. Remember one thing:
Megan lived!