Woman's Dedication To Comatose Son Helps Make Her 'Mother Of The Year'
GLENDALE (CBSLA.com) — A woman's love and dedication to her comatose son has helped make her a Pasadena/Altadena sorority chapter's "Mother of the Year."
Tai Whaley will be honored Saturday by members of the Eta Lambda Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. at their 25th Annual Fashionetta Scholarship Luncheon & Fashion Show at the Glendale Hilton Hotel.
"She exemplifies what motherhood is all about. Clearly in the event, such a tragic one, she made a decision to love her child unconditionally," said Desiree DeShay-Weakley, the chapter's president. "We wanted her to know that we love and care about her and she'll never be forgotten."
In August 2011, Whaley's son, Joseph Frazier, was riding on his motorcycle on Ventura Boulevard near Wilbur when he was struck by a hit-and-run driver.
Frazier, a standout basketball player at CSUN and a coach at Calabasas High School, has been in a coma ever since.
Whaley has not left his side, and even made the decision to care for him at home instead of leaving him at a Van Nuys facility.
"'(The medical staff said), you know, if you had him at home, he'd probably do better because you don't have the infections that come from other people,'" she said. "Once we got him home, he now knows the difference between night and day."
Whaley remains hopeful that one day Frazier will wake up.
"He says 'Mom.' He doesn't utter anything else, but 'Mom' comes out pretty clear, as far as I'm concerned," she said.
