Why a blog?

I spent the first night with mom in the hospital last night. She woke me up several times asking to take her glasses off (they weren't on) and asking me to help her out of bed. It was hard to see her so confused and my emotions ran high. I didn't have anyone to talk to about what was going on, because the person I talk to about this stuff is laying in the hospital bed. But I want to remember this time and want to share it with my mom at a later time. I share everything with her and I know as this journey progresses I will leave something out. She will want to know what was happening these first few weeks and I am going to be sure to have it all documented. I don't know how long it will be before she is up for discussing all of this, but I want to be sure I am ready when she is.  They said the first 24 hours are crucial and we aren't certain when the stroke actually happened yesterday but she missed her 10:00 nail appointment and because I know my mom would have been up at 8:00 am and getting ready for that appointment, I am deducing that it probably happened almost exactly 24 hours ago. 24 hours later, my mom is alive, she is talking to me (slurred, but talking), she is able to move her right side of her body and tell me what is, in her words "annoying" her.  I have a goal, that on August 17, 2014, my mom will be as close to normal as possible. She will be bantering with Josh about who is right, she will be sewing the clothes she had bought the fabric for the night before her stroke and she will make it to her nail appointment. We have a long, hard road ahead of us, but we have survived worse and together, Mimi & Me, we will conquer this journey.

The Stroke Unit

Yesterday's craziness was followed by a transfer to the stroke unit here at Banner Baywood. Our nurse, Katie, was an angel sent from heaven. She eased my fears almost instantly, with her talk about discharging my mom and getting her set up in her therapies and on her way to recovery.  Finally, someone who recognized that the woman laying in this hospital bed was more than just a patient, she was a person. A person with feelings, with a future, a family and a long life ahead of her. Katie did not sugar coat things, she said my mom has a battle to fight and a long road ahead, but that my best friend would recover. I sighed the biggest sigh of relief at that moment in time. I didn't care how hard it was going to be, because nothing would be harder than losing my mom.

All because of a nail appointment...

If any of you know my mom, you know she is a believer that no matter what is going on, you get up, brush your teeth, style your hair, put your makeup on and look your best. My mother has never missed a nail, hair or probably any beauty service appointment ever in her life. Until yesterday. I have recently semi-retired from being a hairstylist and started a new job. I was working an overtime shift Saturday morning and received a text from my friend Andrea. She has been doing my mom's nails for years and was worried when my mom didn't show to her standing appointment. I quickly texted Josh to go check on her. Josh found my mom laying in bed after suffering a major stroke. Within minutes she was on the way to the hospital and I was frantically driving to meet her there. I made phone calls and sobbed as I raced to get to my best friend's bed side. I pleaded with my Heavenly Father as I drove and begged him to keep her alive. When I arrived at the hospital I was met by my sweet husband, my brother, our dear friend Aaron Barton and my sister in law. Soon to follow was my cousin, our bishop, and my father in law. It was all a blur. No answers just medical terminology being flung at us and then having a pre-med student for a husband and Aaron as a captain and paramedic for the fire department was a blessing and a curse. They were acutely aware of every thing in the room. Their discomfort and silence was deafening.  I had a few moments where I actually thought that I was going to have to say goodbye to my best friend forever. My heart ached and I lost my cool multiple times. Although I was scared out of my mind, I was thankful that if this was going to happen, it happened on a day when my mom had a nail appointment. I am also thankful for the tender mercies of The Lord and his guidance of Andrea. Had she not texted me, who knows when we would have found my mom and what condition she would have been in.