later that night, after tucking the kids into bed i sat on the couch chatting with my mother-in-law. i remember two parts of that conversation very well... the first part is that i said that i was pretty certain that we were done having babies and that IF we had another one, it wouldn't be anytime soon. the other thing i said (although i don't recall the context) was something to the effect of... "you never know, i could be hit by a bus tomorrow." wow! talk about foreshadowing!
moments after that conversation took place i realized that i had about a bajillion messages on my phone. after listening to the messages, i realized something was really wrong. a quick call to my sister confirmed it. at around 10:00 on thankgsiving night i learned that my mom was in the er at a hospital in richmond. the prognosis at that time was that it was hard to imagine her living through the night.
i can remember going to bed, helpless, waiting for stacy to call me when she arrived at the hospital. i "slept" with my phone in my hand and lay pleading with God on behalf of my mother. i wasn't sure if i was pleading for her life or her death at that moment, but just knew that God would have to handle it. in the wee small hours of the morning, my sister called. what she saw wasn't good. the amount of bleeding on her brain was significant and they were pretty sure that surgery was inevitable, but first they needed to stabilize her.
the next morning, my family and i drove back to chicago to figure out how to proceed. somewhere between detroit and chicago, i began to suspect that i was expecting. wow! as i said before, if you had told me on the morning of thanksgiving how my life was going to change, i would not have believed you!
a pregnancy test confirmed my suspicion and my mom began to fight the odds. each day they performed brain scans and each day they were stumped. the amount of bleeding they saw indicated that she shouldn't be alive, but each day she progressed little by little. doctors couldn't really explain it, but she was living. the irony of it all was that the part of her brain that had been removed 33 years prior is what they suspected was saving her. it gave room in her head for the extra blood. wow! that's a lot to wrap your brain around (no pun intended). the medical condition that had changed her life years earlier, saved her life years later.
you know the rest of the story... day by day she got better. day by day, she was living, she was walking, she was laughing, she remembered things, and all signs eventually pointed to her getting better.
and for the most part, she did. but for a few things, my mom has been completely restored to her original health over the past year. she also was able to sell her house in virginia, has moved in with stacy and her family, and just this last week broke ground on her soon to be garage apartment. after settling with the insurance company and hiring people to handle the medicare negotiation of her bills, my mom walked away with all of her bills paid. she even had extra money to cover any additional care expenses she might have in the future. if you had told me that in those first few days- i would have cried with joy!
this year has certainly provided her (and i) with some challenges. it has had its ups and downs if you will and has been like one giant roller coaster ride.
oh, and the lady second back from the front (on the left)... that's my mom. apparently she likes living on the edge. that is her on a roller coaster at hershey park... you know, this summer.... because this year hasn't been exciting enough on its own (smile).yes, today, i have a lot to be thankful for. today, on the anniversary of my mom's accident i am beyond thankful for her life. and today, one day shy of learning that i was to have a third baby, i am beyond thankful for my sweet poppy's little life. it sure has been one crazy year and in spite of the insanity that has surrounded me at times, my heart beats with gratitude.
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