Select Entry- ileta A. Sumner

Welcome to our Optimistic Essay category. Here you will find the $1,000 winning contest essay, 5 finalist essays and 15 honorable mention essays and a growing list of hand-picked select essays that readers submitted during our "Why Are You Optimistic About the Future?" contest.

All things happen for a reason. My mom lived by that mantra and it's become my philosophy of life since she died when I was 13. At the time something occurs, we may be clueless as to its purpose; nonetheless, every little thing, as well as each major one, is meant to be and will have a profound effect on my life and those around me.

You see, things were going pretty well. I've been happily married for almost 15 years to Jay, a guy I met 28 years ago when we were mere teenagers. Add to that my two adopted boys, Joshua, age 7, and Jayson, age 4, and life was pretty sweet. The bonus was that I had a career I loved: General Counsel for the Battered Women's Shelter of San Antonio, providing bilingual legal representation to the homeless victims of domestic violence -- a stressful profession but rewarding nevertheless.

Then it all came to a screeching halt.

One night, in November 2005, I sat straight up in my bed, drenched in sweat, short of breath. Jay said that I needed to go to the E.R. but I was hesitant. I thought that I could take the boys to school in the morning, call the doctor, make a same day appointment and take care of whatever "it" was later. After an hour of heated discussion, Jay convinced me to go to the emergency room at 3:00 a.m. That little fact probably saved my life.

When I arrived at the hospital, my blood pressure was 183/116, extremely high for me. The hospital staff immediately began to administer tests. Each subsequent result pointed to the same diagnosis: congestive heart failure. WHAT?!? I had no genetic history of this disease, I walked/ran 8 - 16 miles per week on a treadmill; I ate little red meat, drank lots of water, ate lots of fruits and veggies; I had never smoked and rarely drank. How in the heck could this happen?

The doctors themselves were in disagreement as to the cause. There was no blockage in my arteries and no damage to any other organs. But you know what? It didn't matter how or why it happened. The important part was what to do from now on. It turned out that a month after my initial diagnosis, after 10 days in ICU, a defibrillator was implanted and I may not be out of the woods yet. It is possible that I'll be placed on the heart transplant list soon...at the ripe old age of 43.

And you know what? I'm not depressed about this. Perplexed? Of course! But I'm not stuck in the "oh-me-oh-my-why-oh-why-did-this-happen-to-me?" syndrome. You know why? Because many people with this diagnosis just drop and that's it. No warning. No clue they were even ill. That didn't happen to me.

Mind you, I can't do a whole lot without sending my blood pressure into the stratosphere; still, the other day, I was able to attend my older son's award assembly, something this litigator had never done. I am spending lots of special moments with my boys, all 3 of them (my 2 sons & my hubby). How can I not be optimistic about that?

If I weren't meant to be here I would have been part of the majority that just says adios without any warning. Ever since 9/11, one thing has become perfectly clear: We are not promised tomorrow; however, for some reason, I have been given a few more. Even if it means that I have helped all of the victims of domestic violence that I can, that I will have to retire due to my illness, I have been given a few more days to see the sun rise, to decorate my Christmas tree, to make Easter baskets, to giggle through some more Bugs Bunny cartoons with my boys.

If that's not a reason to anticipate a happy future, I can't think of one.