[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 143 (Monday, October 21, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1937-E1938]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              ``I AM ME''

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES L. OBERSTAR

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, October 21, 1996

  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to share with my 
colleagues the national award winning essay of Arlene Helderman from 
International Falls, MN. I offer Arlen's superb presentation, ``I Am 
Me'' to serve as an enlightened statement to the Nation on the sanctity 
of human life. I want to offer my profound congratulations to Arlene 
and the Koochiching County Right-to-Life Committee and the Minnesota 
Citizens Concerned for Life organization for their sponsorship of this 
annual competition.

                                I Am Me

                 (Pro-Life Speech by Arlene Helderman)

     I am me.
     In all the world, there is no one else exactly like me.
     There are persons who have some parts like me,
       But no one adds up like me,
     Therefore, everything that comes out of me,
     Is authentically mine, because I alone chose it.
     I own everything about me:
       My body--including everything it does,
       My mind--including all its thoughts and ideas,
       My eyes--including all the images they behold,
       My feelings--whatever they may be,
       And all of my actions--whether they be to others or to 
           myself.
     I own my fantasies, my dreams, my hopes, my fears.
     I own all my triumphs and successes, all my failures and 
           mistakes.
     I own me, and therefore I engineer me,
       To work in my best interests,
     I can see, hear, feel, think, say and do.
       I am me.

       I am here today to talk about life. I am here, I am alive, 
     and I am me because of a choice my mother made. Her choice is 
     what accounts for many of the decisions I make now, because 
     of the love present in her choice. I am me because my mom 
     chose life.
       Everything that makes me me, was decided at conception, 
     when forty-six human chromosomes laid out my genetic code. 
     All characteristics were then determined, such as sex, eye 
     color, shoe size, intelligence--many characteristics we now 
     take for granted. But it was then that they were laid out, to 
     create the me that I am. Only twelve weeks later during my 
     precious development, I had the ability to experience pain--
     the same pain I would one day experience at age twelve, when 
     I would clumsily break my nose, I had  tiny fingernails--the 
     same fingernails I would paint so precariously years 
     later, the night before my first formal dance. And my feet 
     were perfectly shaped by this time--the same feet that I 
     use now, to flex and point and dance and leap during my 
     gymnastics routines. It's amazing, but at an early six 
     weeks of my development, I had brain waves--brain waves 
     that today enable me to create stories for English and 
     calculate statistics for Math. And at an unbelievable 
     three weeks, I had a heartbeat--the same heart which beats 
     at seventeen, in anticipation of future dreams and 
     aspirations. I am me, whether it be then or now. But I am 
     only me because my mom chose life. The story of my 
     mother's choice to keep my life is like no story you have 
     ever heard, and you will probably never hear another quite 
     like it.
       Everything was so normal. My mother was twenty-nine years 
     old, and she and my father were a young couple with a four-
     year-old little girl, a white house, (with no picket fence), 
     but picture perfect in their eyes. As springtime neared, she 
     discovered she was pregnant with her second child, which was 
     good news. The first couple months went well, and she had 
     lots of energy. But as time crept on into summer, she felt 
     tired all the time and became ill with bronchitis. She 
     started to lose weight, and she constantly prayed for the 
     doctors to find out exactly what was wrong with her. After 
     many tests and many wrong answers, the doctors diagnosed my 
     mother with leukemia. The doctors told her it was crucial to 
     start chemotherapy treatments right away, because she would 
     only live six weeks without them. Unfortunately, they also 
     said the baby would not survive with the treatment, and that 
     her best chance would be to abort the unborn child.
       It was fall, a time when things die naturally--leaves, 
     flowers, grass; but what about--unnaturally? My mother had 
     started her fifth month. She could feel the baby move inside 
     her and it was like someone was trying to tear her heart out. 
     She had to make a choice. Did she want to destroy her baby so 
     she could have a greater chance at living, or did she want to 
     continue on and hope, only to be told she'd have a greater 
     chance at dying? Despite her threatening condition, she chose 
     life.
       In the next month, my mother experienced more pain than 
     most people could ever imagine. She had a bone marrow test 
     taken, a test so painful, that my petite mother, tore a metal 
     railing from the hospital bed in the midst of her agony. She 
     endured over twenty shots a day, forced herself to eat for 
     the sake of her baby, was hooked up to IV's, and lost so much 
     weight, that even at five months pregnant she only weighed 
     eighty pounds. She endured so much pain, and she did it all 
     for me. I don't know how I can ever thank my mom for the 
     sacrifices she made for me, but the faith and love she had in 
     me is something that will live in my heart, forever.
       Another month passed, and my mother was feeling a little 
     better. At seven months of the pregnancy, November twenty-
     fifth started out like any other day. She was weighed, and 
     her IV's were changed, but by ten o'clock that morning, she 
     was starting labor. The Doctors explained that most likely 
     the baby would not survive, and for her safety, my mother 
     should be flown to a larger hospital with better medical 
     facilities. The hospital in her small town did not have the 
     proper equipment if the baby was to survive. And so, although 
     my mom persisted there was not enough time to make it to the 
     hospital, they boarded her, a nurse, and a pilot onto a small 
     air ambulance for an unforgettable journey. Halfway to the 
     hospital I was born and I could not breathe. The nurse 
     encouraged my mom to pray as she gave me resuscitation to 
     try and keep me alive. The pilot radioed ahead for 
     ambulances and to the hospital so everyone was ready for 
     my arrival. The rest of the flight, forty minutes, was the 
     longest forty minutes in my mother's life; but as we 
     neared the landing, she thought she saw my tiny lip 
     quiver, and it gave her hope.
       For days, I was placed on oxygen to breathe, and time 
     pressed on with the unavoidable question of survival. The 
     doctors again said it did not look promising. They suggested 
     to my parents to pick a name for me, therefore I was named 
     after the nurse-Arlene, and the pilot-Frances, who were both 
     so courageous during my birth. I was hooked up to oxygen and 
     heart machines, and there were so many IV's in my tiny arm, 
     that at fourteen inches long, two and half pounds, you could 
     barely see me under all that equipment. When my mom entered 
     the intensive care unit I was in, my heart monitor became 
     extremely active, perhaps because I could feel her presence. 
     It was then that my mom knew I would be okay.
       After two months in an incubator, and weighing in at five 
     pounds, I went home to a family that was anxiously waiting my 
     arrival. My mom endured three more years of chemotherapy 
     treatment. To this day, there is not a single trace of cancer 
     in her body. Despite all of the odds and even when it looked 
     like it couldn't get any worse, my mom and I broke medical 
     history. We are alive, and we did it together.

[[Page E1938]]

       And today, because my mom chose life, I am me. My mom was 
     given practically no chance, but she still underwent painful 
     experiences, emotionally and physically, to give me life. I 
     am who I am today, because of her. She had to make a choice. 
     And she chose me!
       Because of the enormous obstacles overcome in my struggle, 
     many people have deemed my birth to be a miracle. However, I 
     have learned that life itself, is truly the miracle. 
     Sometimes I forget how precious life is and we all tend to 
     overlook the magic of every day. But then I remember. I 
     remember that there are children not as fortunate as I am. I 
     remember the dream that lies in every moment, and the 
     expectation born in every thought. I remember that I am me. 
     But most importantly, I remember the day I learned to fully 
     appreciate the value of life. It was the day when my mom told 
     me that the result of her choice had turned out to be 
     priceless!

                          ____________________