Christina Mushi Brunt to be honored at Mom of the Year celebration
By CLIFF BRUNT
ISL Editor
Note: Updating this Nov. 9, 2012 story on Mother’s Day 2013 to reflect that Christina has since been given a clean bill of health.
I just wanted to inform everyone that March of Dimes is honoring my wife, Christina, as one of 10 Mom of the Year winners in the state of Indiana. There will be a celebration Saturday at the Indianapolis Marriott downtown. Former IndyCar driver Sarah Fisher also will be honored at the event, which is presented by Indy’s Child Magazine.
Christina has overcome so much and is possibly the strongest-willed, most family-oriented person I’ve ever met. She has dealt with a hysterectomy, a complicated childbirth and thyroid cancer all since the start of 2012 and still handles the business at home and at work.
Please, forgive me. I know this is not a sports story. But if you’re #CHUCKSTRONG, you can’t help but respect her story. I’m trying to be #CHRISTINASTRONG.
Below is the nomination letter I sent, with a few updates to make it relevant in the present (May 2013).
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I suppose Christina probably could be a finalist for your award without even mentioning the unfathomable list of hardships she’s faced over the past year.
We have been blessed with three beautiful children; Elias, 6; Eva, 3½ and Eden, 6 months (now 7, 4 and 1). Christina has adapted to their differences in amazing ways. She is a professor in the Indiana University Department of Health Sciences on the IUPUI campus who works way more than 40 hours per week, yet she finds enough time to build real relationships with the kids and support my career. She is a Christian, and it shows in how she treats the children, in what she does and in what she expects from those around her.
She supports numerous causes. She has participated in the Race for the Cure numerous times and has taken the kids to volunteer for Kids against Hunger, teaching them the importance of sacrificing and putting others first. She was one of the primary planners for Vacation Bible School at Circle City Church in 2011.
Somehow, this person with a completely overloaded schedule finds time for everybody.
Unfortunately, she was forced to slow down. She has faced three situations that would make most people buckle, yet she has remained steadfast in her faith.
In November 2010, we were told Christina had a miscarriage. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever try to have children again. The marriage became a struggle at times because she withdrew, and I couldn’t help the way she needed me to because no man fully understands.
After a while, we decided to try again. We were blessed with the opportunity to try and help bring a child into the world, but again, it came with complications. In July 2011, the doctor told her she had low hormone levels in several areas needed to maintain a pregnancy. She was put on medication, and there was an awful waiting period.
We made it through that time and things became more normal. She then suffered from sciatica, a painful nerve condition connected with pregnancy.
Late in the pregnancy, there were more issues. She developed a condition called HELLP Syndrome, a rare but serious condition that includes breakdown of red blood cells, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelet count. Those factors can affect the baby, but fortunately, she delivered Eden without incident on Feb. 9.
That wasn’t the end of the issues. After the placenta was delivered, a tumor was found in it. She found out she had a placental-site trophoblastic tumor, a extremely rare cancer that required a hysterectomy. She had that procedure on June 14.
Again, that wasn’t all. During a checkup, Christina’s doctor noticed that her thyroid had a growth. Eventually, it was determined that she had papillary thyroid cancer, so her thyroid had to be removed. The surgery was on July 9 and she had to take radioactive iodine to make sure all the cancer cells were removed.
Perhaps the most notable thing through all of it is that the kids haven’t even noticed anything was different. Of course, she’s had a few “Why me? moments. Who wouldn’t after all that? But she stayed on course through it all.
Her classes? They never stopped, through all her surgeries and hardships. The expectations from her profession, like many these days, never changed. So many times, she would work from her hospital bed. Public health is a service to people, and she feels compelled to do it well. She’s seeking tenure. She knows what is at stake for the people she serves through her job and for the family at home.
And, still, she wanted to breast feed Eden when drained from work or from another surgery. Even at her weakest, she never hesitated to ask the oldest two how their days went, even when her days were filled with pain and discomfort.
There’s one other thing worth mentioning. She’s the mother of the year because her mother is a mother of the year, too. Each time something went wrong, Eldora Mushi was there. She taught my wife all the things Christina is passing on to our children. I’ve never seen two people work so hard. My definition of work changed when I joined their family.
I suppose the best compliment I can give her is that, of all the amazing people I’ve met in my 38 years, there’s not one I’d rather have raise my children.
Thank you,
Cliff Brunt
