No matter what Black Diamond’s chief administrative officer has gone through in her life, there’s always been one person she could count on – her mother.
Sharlene Brown has lived a whirlwind life as mayor, councillor, avid volunteer, outdoorswoman, administrator and a mom of three boys. When things got overwhelming or hectic, her mom, Marie, wasn’t far away.
"Without the support of my mother I wouldn’t be in the place that I am today,” said Brown. "She’s been supportive in all avenues of my life from raising my kids to my time in politics to the time I was in school. She was a very strong woman and very influential in my life.”
Brown is one of thousands of people in the Foothills region who understand the importance of Mother’s Day every May.
"It’s just a very special day to recognize the impacts of motherhood,” she said. "It’s not only for me but for other mothers worldwide.”
Brown was a mother of a young son 31 years ago when her second son Thomas was born with a severe form of spina bifida called myelomeningocele. It’s a condition where the baby’s spinal canal is open in one or several places in the lower or mid back and a sac of fluid holding part of the spinal cord and nerves pokes out of the body.
This rendered Thomas in a wheelchair his whole life as a paraplegic.
"Thomas has had limited mobility since he was born,” Brown explained. "He was hospitalized a lot.”
Thomas’s condition required several appointments to see doctors, as well as numerous surgeries.
"Because I had other children at home I had to ensure that all of my attention was devoted to all of them,” she said. "There was a lot of care by all members of the family.”
Brown’s home had to be transformed to become wheelchair accessible, yet she didn’t let this and other challenges impact her mentally.
Like the trooper she is, Brown remained positive.
"You just balance it,” she said. "You don’t have any choice. Everybody has different experiences and you do what you need to do to be able to make things work.”
Brown kept all three of her boys busy in sports. Johnothan played hockey, Matthew was involved in soccer and Thomas enjoyed wheelchair racing and sledge hockey.
"We always had a very active lifestyle,” she said. "You spend your time between making supper and ensuring that everybody is going to bed and getting to their sports events.”
Through it all, Brown said her family always supported and assisted her when her three sons were younger.
As for Brown’s mom, she never doubted her support.
"She babysat or would help clean the house and she would be there for me to talk to,” she said. "It didn’t matter what my kids were going through she was always there to assist and support and provide whatever it was that we needed.”
With her mother at her side, Brown said her own role as a mother was one of the most rewarding of her life.
"I’ve enjoyed my whole entire experience being a mother with those three wonderful sons,” she said. "They’ve been a wonderful inspiration, a driving force in my life to make the world a better place.”
