The Night the Lights Went Out: A Memoir

By Stella Jonas

In early 2015, Leilah Raye was living the American dream. She had worked her way up into middle management at a chemical company and recently reunited with her husband. But on a Wednesday morning, while Aaron Hernandez was being convicted of murder, Leilah unexpectedly began a devastating downward spiral.

In a memoir of darkness and light, Raye discloses how a trip to the emergency room changed her life forever. As her family rallied around her and the doctors attempted to diagnose her issue, Raye slipped into a coma that would last five weeks. She battled for her life in intensive care and now offers a glimpse into the complexities of family dynamics, as each member handled the catastrophic event in different ways. As she details how faith and perseverance was tested, Raye guides others to an understanding that on the other side of tragedy there is always light and, most importantly, that God is always good.

The Night the Lights Went Out shares the true story of a womans journey after a near-death experience led her from a coma into the faith-filled realization that one can find healing and growth, even during the worst of storms.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Dec 12, 2017
• ISBN: 9781532033322

Stella Jonas

Stella Jonas earned a bachelors degree in business administration from Averett University. Now retired from a thirty-plus-year career with a major chemical company, Stella works as a freelance writer. She is the mother of one and grandmother to two and currently resides in Richmond, Virginia. This is her first book.

Book preview

Copyright © 2017 Stella Jones.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

iUniverse

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.iuniverse.com

1-800-Authors (1-800-288-4677)

Because of the dynamic nature of the internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-5320-3334-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-3333-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-3332-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017915671

iUniverse rev. date: 12/28/2017

Acknowledgments

First, I give honor to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I thank my friends and family for supporting me while I embarked on this journey. A special thanks to my son, James, for his constant support and courage while I was incapacitated. His presence gave me the drive to fight for my life.

Introduction

This is the story of a woman who experienced a near-death encounter and lived to talk about it. The author shares how waking up from being in a coma for five weeks and transitioning to a world of the unknown have changed her outlook. The daily struggle to put her life back together prompted Leilah to record the activities around her, thus giving birth to this book.

There is a saying that if the Lord brings you to it, He will bring you through it. This story tells how God brought her through it and is still working in her life.

Contents

1     The Night the Lights Went Out

2     The Sun Is Shining

3     Lights Out

4     While I Was Asleep (According to My Family)

5     While I Was Asleep

6     The Awakening

7     The Awakening II

8     The Awakening III

9     Fully Awake

10   Transitioning Home

11   My Life on Hemodialysis

12   My Attempt to Return to Work

13   Retiring from My Job

14   Hemodialysis to Peritoneal Dialysis

15   Christmas 2015

16   Putting My Husband Out

17   My Summer with My Granddaughter

18   Uncle Fred’s Birthday

19   Christmas 2016

20   Welcome 2017

1

The Night the Lights Went Out

Life is truly amazing. Things happen that the mind could not imagine. Sometimes life deals you a hand that challenges your inner strength and character. Daylight reveals what was there, dormant from the beginning, and the world gets to watch your life unfold.

I was born in Massanova County. I graduated from Southside High School in 1978. Though I was an honor student all of my academic life, I did not leave high school and go to college. I went to work. I had worked the entire time I was in high school and desperately needed a place to live, so I went to work full-time. I worked hard and was good at what I did, but my income was poverty level. I even cleaned bathrooms part-time, but it was difficult trying to pay the rent. My sister Robin worked for a local factory that paid very well. She suggested I apply for a job there. Following her advice, I applied, and after much scrutiny, I was hired.

I joined Chemx as a machine operator. I always knew I wanted more out of life and a challenge. I was eventually promoted into supervision in 2004. This was a major accomplishment. I was what some called extraordinary. But I stayed in the role of first-line supervisor for nine years. This was extremely difficult. Due to the stress related to the duties, being a first-line supervisor is not the kind of job one works for an extensive amount of time. What was worse for me, I worked a high-hazard Process Safety Management area. The process I was responsible for overseeing was extremely complicated. Even the engineers had difficulty understanding it. I was doing this job with no more than a high school education. The stress was great. Then there were union issues to deal with.

Finally, in October 2013, I broke through the obstruction and joined middle management. I always called it a cement ceiling, for it was the most difficult move in my career. But I landed a job that I loved. My main task was to implement new programs for the company. I love goal-oriented work, and this was perfect for me. Corporate America had adopted a system called production systems. This was a way of getting work done. It mainly relied on the Six Sigma methodology and lean concepts. Using the lean concepts was a way of eliminating waste, whether the waste was physical or the misuse of time. The goal was engagement of the people. With this approach, the likelihood of commitment from the shop floor was greater.

This was the life I was living the night the lights went out. With no warning at all, my life changed forever.

2

The Sun Is Shining

My husband, Barry, and I lived an average life. When considering our pasts and the way we were raised, we had made it. It is difficult to live a comfortable life in a commonwealth state without the benefit of a college degree or the luxury of being connected up. You see, I was the daughter of sharecroppers from Massanova County, and he was the son of a preacher from North Carolina. Neither of us had what was considered a privileged upbringing. My husband had been married before, and I had a son I was raising alone when we