For my mother

You Are Already BeautifulParry Romberg Syndrome and Me My story by Cheryl Rick Klein


July 14 th was a very hard day for me. It was my mother"s birthday. She passed away four years ago at the age of 72.

I miss my mother so much it still is very painful to talk about.

My mother and I had a difficult relationship.
When I was young I thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world, tall slender glamourous.

She was not the typical mother who hugged and kissed me everyday. She didn't tuck me into bed and read me a bed time story.

I thought even back as young as five years old, my mom doesn't like me. I thought of ways to make her love me. I was perfect. I did everything right.

I was such a good girl she didn't even send me to nursery school like my older sister Francine who used to bite everyone in the class.

I wanted to go to school like my sister. I tiptoed around my mother and it wasn't so bad.
She told everyone I was the sweetest little girl. She still never hugged me or told me "I love you"

Fast forward to age eleven.
I was losing my right side of my face and felt well......words can't describe the horror I felt.

My mother still never hugged me or said "you will always be beautiful to me" or I love you.

My mother may have been demonstrutive. But she loved her family more than words can even describe. She was the one who waited for hours every month in the doctor's waiting room and while I was getting painful silicone injections she sat on a chair. I wanted to squeeze her hand while the procedure was done. Instead the nurse held my hand.

My mother was complicated but brilliant. She never went to college but she was CEO material.

My mother didn't like to say goodbye. The reason she told me was that one day the goodbye would be the last goodbye.

When Dr Siebert performed my vascular flap transplant in 2002 she gave me 40 thousand dollars without even a blink. You have to do this procedure. I had complications and almost went into shock because I had so much silicone, the doctor had a hard time.

She told me if I died during that surgery she would never forgive herself.
She was there for me while I recovered and the swelling went down after many months.

I will never forget the day she said "You are so beautiful" with tears in her eyes. Then again you were alway beautiful to me.

When I took my daughters to visit their "grandma" she always told my girls how much she loved them and hugged them and read books to them.

I was amazed, I wasn't jealous, I was so happy my mother finally was able to "show her love."

On March 16th 2006 my mother passed away in her bed. I realized I never told her how much I loved her and never would get the chance.

She never said goodbye.


I love you and miss you forever .
Dedicated to Gladys Ruth Rick (1931-2006)