About My Mom

A lot of people have also been asking how Mom is. She has been handling all of this with her usual grace, strength, and faith.

I know it was awful for her to see Dad have that seizure. And I know she questioned whether the outcome would have been different if (a) they hadn't made the trip to Mena or, (b) she had known Sunday night that Dad was showing the first signs of the effect of the bleed. My non-medically-informed opinion is that the answer to both of those is NO. The traveling wouldn't have been a factor because he didn't show any signs at all until Sunday. His symptoms on Sunday could be attributed to any number of causes such as low blood sugar.

When Mom called the woman who helps out at their house to tell her about Dad she found out that a week earlier Dad just keeled over backwards and fell flat on the carpet in the hallway. He immediately said he was fine, got up and went to the kitchen and continued on about his day. I don't think knowing about it would've changed anything that's happened.

One of the doctors did say last week that it was unfortunate they couldn't do an MRI because of Dad's pacemaker. An MRI could reveal whether or not Dad had been having very small strokes over a period of time. In looking back, Mom does think he might have been. One of the residents asked some very detailed questions about the weeks leading up to this. Questions about his judgment and forgetfulness. There were actually a number of examples going back to mid-September.

The relief that I see on her face every time Dad looks at her and nods, or gives her a thumbs up, or squeezes her hand is truly priceless. All the tiny moments like blowing kisses or turning his head when he hears her voice are precious. And when I told her he asked, "Where's Mom?" or when she said "Hello sweetie pie," and he responded "Hi, babe," to her you just want to jump for joy, because these are the moments that continue to give her strength.

The love of her life is fighting for his life and still knows who she is. She has hope.