A Girl with a Special Name
A Memoir of Life, Love, Death, Redemption, and Recovery
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“Hold her down, hold her down!” Shouted a nurse. As a proud, one hundred-five pound, 5’6 gal I was having none of it. I was rapidly losing touch with reality. A medical professional was on my right arm. There was a medical professional on my left arm and two professionals at my ankles. Nobody was going to pick me for IVs. Four medical professionals could not contain me. After becoming exhausted the nurse on my left arm shouted to my husband that he needed to get me under control as they could not hold me down and could not to get me to stop pulling out stints and IV’s. Time was of the essence and the medical professionals needed to get me to surgery as soon as possible. My husband was on my right, behind the male technician who was trying to hold my right arm down. Then my husband said, “Honey, do you want to go to the beach?” I became calm. To the beach, we went. My muscles relaxed and I surrendered my physical struggle as my mind went to an angelic place. “Do you see the waves, honey? Look at the sunset! Isn’t it beautiful? Do you hear the waves?” It was so beautiful. I became lost in his amazing description of the beach and ocean breezes. The sand was white and warm. The waves were graceful. Peaceful. Heaven. While I was mentally at the beach on went the restraints. My right arm was secured. My left arm was secured. My legs were secured. I was helpless, yet ever lost in my husband’s voice.
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About the Book
For years, author Adelina L. Kennedy endured a long battle with anorexia and its complications. In A Girl with a Special Name, she chronicles her journey through hardship and her miraculous recovery to a healthier, more fulfilled life. Faced with a multitude of challenges including anorexia, blood infections, medical coma, drug-induced hallucinations, emergency surgery, resuscitation, intubation, attempted suicide, seizures, and pancreatitis, she eventually took two trips to rehabilitation facilities. There, she experienced healing alongside heroin addicts, sex slaves, bulimics, bingers, meth addicts, and other struggling souls. In this memoir, Adelina recounts coming to terms with her own difficulties and shares her experiences with the medical professionals who saved her. Against all odds, she learned to love and accept herself. She celebrates her triumphs through tragedy and recounts how her experiences have enriched what was once a dark, destructive life. A Girl with a Special Name offers a poignant look at one woman’s thirst for unobtainable perfection and the life-threating repercussions that followed its pursuit. It celebrates a strong woman’s renewal and the unexplainable miracles that shaped her life. Through her journey, she gained a better understanding of mental illness and the underbelly of addiction while learning to embrace grace and compassion.
About the Author
Adelina L. Kennedy has traveled the country underwriting millions of dollars in commercial real estate loans and has managed a commercial loan portfolio of more than $500 million dollars. She also established her own business designing and constructing high-end draperies for model homes. Kennedy lives in the Midwest with her husband, Daniel; two teenage children; and an adopted pup.