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I've had quite a year. I thought the highlight would be getting married. I thought the highlight would be having my baby girl. Now it looks like the highlight is being completely recovered from schizophrenia. Did I ever have it? Was I misdiagnosed? Am I the one in a thousand that recovers from this illness? These are the questions my doctor is asking. What is the 25 mg of haldol a month doing for me? This is such a low dosage for anyone with an illness that it seems quite possible there was no illness in the first place. What else contributed to my recovery? Was it the consistent medication? The environmental changes and lifestyle? The yoga and alternative therapies? The willpower and friends that believe in you? Maybe it's the constant support from family—financially, emotionally, and mentally. Maybe it's the one friend who believes in you no matter what you do, or maybe there was never anything wrong in the first place.

Regardless of what it was that I had or didn't have doesn't matter anymore. They sure took me through some kind of ride for some reason. What was the purpose? Why did I have to go through such a journey? How could there be a complete recovery? Could we study this, do research, ask questions on how to be helpful in our own recovery? Having a family and becoming a mother was huge to me. Thinking positively and that things can improve was also important. Having constant contact with people, especially family, can put you in a mood of security and happiness that nothing else can bring you. Having activities to involve yourself in can also bring you out of the blues. My mother-in-law told me not to take things so seriously and to not be afraid. Sound advice for anyone.

Let me update you on my family. Kayla, our baby girl is now eight-months-old and is babbling, sitting up, rolling over, eating solids, pulling herself up to stand and almost crawling. She's a joy, constant work—like a third arm—and the most loveable thing. She has fair skin after her father and blue eyes after her grandfather. She has brown hair, weighs 18 pounds and is about 26 inches. She goes to 'creative play for kids,' 'gym babies,' 'real birth' mommy classes and has started dipping in the pool. Occasionally, she'll go to 'reel moms' and see the grown-up movies, but she mostly watches her 'Baby Einstein' videos, 'Teletubbies' and 'Sesame Street.' She likes to play (bang) on the piano and sit up in the living room with her toys all around her. She likes her 'bee' toy, her teething rings (she's starting to get one tooth) and her rubber duckie. She says mamamama, dadadada, and babababa.

My husband and I are getting along very well. You'll remember that we met at the New York City support group called Awakenings sponsored by the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. We had our one-year anniversary on January 9th and went to The Rainbow Room Grill in Rockefeller Center. Occasionally, we go to a movie or a night out at a restaurant, but most of the time we just stay in and talk. We both like to write and enjoy working out at the gym. We love to laugh with Kayla and play games with her. We're going to try to have a second child pretty soon.

So, life is good now and I'm so grateful that my luck has finally turned around. My ten-year sentence has finally ended. If I need to go back on medication for some reason, I will. We want to be healthy and live a normal life. My husband will be my monitor. I hope I see clearly and I hope my complete recovery is just that: HEALED. Believe me—I prayed a lot for this.