Stroke of Misfortune
On Thursday May 23, my mom suffered a stroke caused by a bloodclot in her neck. Her coworkers claim that at lunch she asked if her eye was funny and then she closed them and was unresponsive.
Dad calls me at work at 3:45 to tell me. Then I get another call from HR telling me to speak to the principal because I'm being transferred to another school.
As soon as the kids left the room I started crying. It was too much to handle in a single afternoon.
I went into work on Friday even though I felt like shit for not staying at the hospital with my mom. But after puking up lunch from agitation, I asked the librarian if she could help me cover my afternoon classes and took off for the hospital.
Then I had to call my brother and tell him. He flew in from San Jose to El Paso by 8:45 pm.
Mom was unresponsive on Thurs. We'd talk loudly and shake her, but she would not wake up.
By Friday Mom was opening her eyes and she hugged me when she heard me talk.
Saturday: Mom was only to talk in small increments. Her brain needs to heal and talking impedes her recovery. She's suffered from some memory loss and confusion.
I felt so bad for Rene since he had to deal with the ugly end of explaining to her that grandpa's dead and Uncle Vern passed away. He said she was sobbing when she realized she was in ICU. Then she'll say things like not remembering Dad's new car or asking where her horse is (we don't own horses). We just go along with it, tell her her horse is at home.
Today she was speaking more and she's gaining her memories slowly. She did complain about missing her TV shows and she said she was eager to see a soap she watched in the 80s.
She can't stand to be alone. Rene was barely able to use the bathroom because she didn't want him to go. Dad and I returned from dinner to find her trying to use the phone to call us. We alternate shifts--Rene spends the night with her and Dad and I spend the day with her.
It's been very trying. I forget that while I've spent three days in the hospital the rest of the world is celebrating Memorial Day. I'm really not sure how much more I can take.
Dad calls me at work at 3:45 to tell me. Then I get another call from HR telling me to speak to the principal because I'm being transferred to another school.
As soon as the kids left the room I started crying. It was too much to handle in a single afternoon.
I went into work on Friday even though I felt like shit for not staying at the hospital with my mom. But after puking up lunch from agitation, I asked the librarian if she could help me cover my afternoon classes and took off for the hospital.
Then I had to call my brother and tell him. He flew in from San Jose to El Paso by 8:45 pm.
Mom was unresponsive on Thurs. We'd talk loudly and shake her, but she would not wake up.
By Friday Mom was opening her eyes and she hugged me when she heard me talk.
Saturday: Mom was only to talk in small increments. Her brain needs to heal and talking impedes her recovery. She's suffered from some memory loss and confusion.
I felt so bad for Rene since he had to deal with the ugly end of explaining to her that grandpa's dead and Uncle Vern passed away. He said she was sobbing when she realized she was in ICU. Then she'll say things like not remembering Dad's new car or asking where her horse is (we don't own horses). We just go along with it, tell her her horse is at home.
Today she was speaking more and she's gaining her memories slowly. She did complain about missing her TV shows and she said she was eager to see a soap she watched in the 80s.
She can't stand to be alone. Rene was barely able to use the bathroom because she didn't want him to go. Dad and I returned from dinner to find her trying to use the phone to call us. We alternate shifts--Rene spends the night with her and Dad and I spend the day with her.
It's been very trying. I forget that while I've spent three days in the hospital the rest of the world is celebrating Memorial Day. I'm really not sure how much more I can take.