"Dream Mom" Nominated for "Best Patient Blog" at the 2006 Medical Weblog Awards

"I was still sleeping when I heard his voice. At first, I couldn’t believe it. Was I still dreaming? It was the kind of voice that is forever embedded in your memory. It was soft, sweet and yet from the heart, the kind you never forget. Kind of like hearing a beautiful aria for the first time, the kind that sends chills down your spine. The kind where you desperately hope for an encore but it never comes. I waited quietly to see if I would hear it again, however it was not to be."

This was one of my first posts, when I started blogging, called, "Once Is Not Enough" where I describe hearing being awakened by hearing a word out of my son, the first time in many years. It was the start of many stories that I would come to write about Dear Son and still remains my favorite. Over time, I went on to write "The Hole" and some other stories and through it all, many people have responded with such beautiful comments.

I remember early last year, when I began reading all of these medical blogs. I started with Fat Doctor and loved her style and candor. I loved reading about her patient stories as well as her home life. From there, I went on to read Neonatal Doc. I found myself commenting on so many of his posts that I decided to write my own blog and hence Dream Mom began. I thought he did a wonderful job covering a lot of medical ethics issues; you can always count on a lively discussion. And who could forget the "moustache" post? And then there was OncRN. Her posts on death and dying were always touching and fascinating at the same time. I would hope I would be so lucky to have a nurse like her in my dying days. And then there is my all time favorite, "The Examining Room of Dr. Charles". I love reading his patient stories since he is a masterful writer. I remember thinking to myself, "if I could ever write as well as Dr. Charles", that would be amazing. I still think that. He always has a great story to tell but my all time favorite has to be the beer story that is here and who could forget the story of Mr. Black (too bad he removed this story but it will be a great addition to his next book!). Certainly, there are a lot of great blogs out there and I have only touched the surface.

Today, I am honored to be part of a wonderful group. I have been nominated for, "Best Patient Blog" in the 2006 Medical Weblog Awards. I am honored to be part of this group. Over the past year, when I started writing my blog, I started with the intent to share some stories about the love of my life, my Dear Son. I can't say that I had any real expectations at the time however I figured in the end, I would have all of the wonderful memories of him on paper that I could reflect on in the years to come. In the beginning, I wrote about other things as well, however most people seemed to respond the most to the posts about Dear Son. I have been blessed to have such a wonderful young man as my son and blessed again to have so many people who have taken an interest in him. I hope you have enjoyed many stories about him throughout the year and if you have, then I'd appreciate your vote.

The voting started yesterday and the polls will close on Sunday, January 14, 2007 at midnight PST. Voting for the awards will be open to all, but you will only be able to vote once and there is only one vote for each category from a particular IP address. The awards will be announced on January 19th, 2007.

If you have enjoyed my blog and reading stories about Dear Son, then you can vote for me here. I would be honored to have this title. And while you are there, be sure to check out some of the other categories and blogs as well as MedGadget's blog which you can find here.

Thank you.