Midcoast Hospital emergency room? Those were the people who sustained Kara’s vital signs as she tottered between life and death that day. Should we dedicate it to the medical staff and employees of Maine Medical Center? Those were the people who lead Kara back to health as she recovered under their special guidance. Should we dedicate Kara Mia to our friends and neighbors? These were the people who cleaned our house, fed us for four months, mowed our lawn and walked the dog. Should we dedicate it to my co- workers in the operating room? These were the people who gave me all the easy cases until my feet were firmly planted on the ground once again. Should we dedicate it to certain special friends who have been more angelic than human? These were the people who helped me give Kara her first bed bath (that would be you, Linda) or who literally held my hand through the first surgical case I did on my first day back to work (that would be you, John) or who gave Kara her weekly shampoo and manicure (that would be you, Paula) or despite an ankle broken while rescuing puppies, unfailingly had Kara to her house every Tuesday (that would be you, Joanna). Should we dedicate the book to our technical support staff? These were the people who read and reread our manuscript and generously offered us their computer expertise. Should we dedicate the book to my parents? They were the ones who heard the news of Kara’s collapse at 4:00 p.m. in Chicago and were in Maine by 9:00 p.m. that night. Should we dedicate this book to our respective children, Ken, who is in graduate school at the University of Chicago, and Guerin, who is a sophomore at Providence College? We are proud of both of them. Should we dedicate this book to our respective spouses, Ann and Tom? They have been more than tolerant of our writing process in their quiet, calm, patient and funny ways. They have always had faith in us, stood beside us and trusted the importance of this book to us. Even though all of these people are deserving of a dedication, there is one person who transcends all of them and that person is Kara. So, Kara, we dedicate this book to you. This book is a testament to your smiling hard work and this bittersweet story of love and modern medicine. You have taught us that miracles do happen.
Acknowledgments The authors would like to acknowledge the help that we received from Anne Lamott’s book bird by bird. Both of us kept that book near our computers as we wrote and her writing inspired us, got us unstuck, made us laugh, and taught us about life. It had the remarkable effect of eventually making us think we were writers. This particular passage is from the chapter “Someone to Read Your Drafts” and we found it to be particularly true as we solicited editorial assistance from our family and friends. "...I am suggesting that there may be someone out there in the world...who will read your finished drafts and give you an honest critique, let you know what does and doesn’t work, give you some suggestions on things you might take out or things on which you need to elaborate, ways in which to make your piece stronger...I know what a painful feeling it is when you’ve been working on something forever, and it feels done, and you give your story to someone you hope will validate this and that person tells you it still needs more work. You have to, at this point, question your assessment of this