Please Wake Me Up

PLEASE WAKE ME UP is a love letter from mother to daughter. Based on the true story of my daughter's struggle to overcome the physical, cognitive, emotional, and even social trauma of brain injury, it traces her journey from despair to self-acceptance and self-reliance. Nine-year-old Ella's life is turned upside down when a day of skiing turns tragic. As she slowly emerges from a coma, she discovers that she must relearn everything: to sit up, swallow, speak, walk, and comprehend how drastically her life has changed. Ella has gone from a cute, popular, smart, cool kid to a disfigured special ed girl with no friends. The title comes from a moment during rehab when Ella still cannot speak. She is able to communicate only by tapping letters on an alphabet board. One of the first things she taps out: I'M HAVING A VERY BAD DREAM….. WAKE ME UP……PLEASE. The bad dream of her damaged condition is not one that Ella can wake up from, but her awakening takes on different forms as her healing progresses. When attempts to return to her original life prove heartbreakingly futile, Ella accepts that it will never be and sets out to redefine herself. She must first learn to live with her imperfections then convince others that she is still capable. In the process, Ella discovers that her shortcomings are actually