2022 :: week 22

May 29

We had a fifth Sunday lesson at church. That evening we gathered for dinner at my parent's house to celebrate the May birthdays--Jake, me and Matt. Dad smoked ribs and grilled salmon. My mom had desserts for each of us--tres leches for Jake, caramel popcorn for me and cheesecake for Matt. It was a normal evening with adults visiting, kids running around outside and downstairs. My had a bit of a headache and commiserated with my mom about it.

May 30

Our Memorial Day started off like any other. We slept in a bit, did yard work we didn't finish on Saturday, took a quick jump in the pool and went to our ward picnic. After the picnic we were driving to a friend's house when I got a call from my dad. He was upset and said that he couldn't get my mom to wake up from her nap. We changed directions towards my parents' house and called 9-1-1 while my dad tried to wake my mom up. We arrived at my parents about 2 minutes later and about one minute before the paramedics.  Anthony and I followed the dispatcher's directions until they arrived and took over. We knew that mom was alive, her heart was beating and that she was breathing, but she was unable to talk to us. My dad followed the ambulance to the hospital. We said a prayer and then headed to our house. That night after we put our kids to bed we headed to the hospital. We learned that my mom most likely suffered a stroke. We left the hospital around 11pm when they took my mom to get a MRI. I had a hard time sleeping that night. 

May 31

My dad, Jill, Emily and I spent the better part of the day at the hospital. We learned that Mom suffered an ischemic stroke, which means that blood flow (and oxygen) was restricted going into the brain, and that the stroke was in her thalamus. The neurologist explained to us that the stroke location was "before the trunk spread to the branches," so she won't have the typical one-side droopy effects, though her left side appears to be stronger. We are still waiting to see what her deficits we will be, but even 24 hours later her face looked healthier than it did when we found her. A parade of medical professionals came to the room throughout the day. It was Matt Wilson's birthday, so that evening we had the Wilson boys over for a few hours so Emily could get him dinner.

June 1

Wednesday morning we met Tara, Landon and their crew at Meadowbrook Park. The kids were going stir-crazy from the rain and staying home all day the previous day. Elliott lost his first tooth while we were at the park and it made me cry. My emotions are all over the place. I went to the hospital again in the afternoon so my dad could pick up a few things from work. Anthony worked half days Tuesday and Wednesday, which was so helpful. My mom slept most of the day and by the end of the day we were all feeling weary and sad. The doctors talked to us about advanced directives, prolonging life and we all felt overwhelmed and sad.

June 2

Within 24 hours of Mom's stroke, my out of town sisters had tickets to visit. Due to flight delays Melanie arrived late Wednesday and Laura arrived Thursday afternoon. While Melanie was visiting, Mom woke up a bit and was able to open her left eye a tiny bit for the first time post-stoke. After the emotional discussions the day before, it felt like a true miracle. Will wrote "4MEMAW" in marker on his leg. This kid has definitely been influenced by sports stars.

June 3

Friday afternoon I took Lauren, Elliott and Miles to the pool while Tony and Will were at the church for Tony's a summer basketball bootcamp. The summer basketball bootcamp is the brainchild of Tony and Will. They invited several of Will's friends who enjoy basketball to a weekly informal basketball camp at our church building. Several boys in our ward attend, along with a few friends from different wards in the area. It felt weird being at the pool, participating in a "normal" summer activity while my world felt so upside down. It was also the longest I had been outside since Monday, which is also unusual for me in the summertime.

June 4

Late Saturday morning the original 7 Cranes were together in Mom's hospital room. We were chatting and making tentative plans before Laura had to head back to Utah. While we were talking Mom woke up! She started talking a bit and was lucid for almost two hours. The local sisters called husbands (I called Anthony) and had them bring the kids up to say hi to Memaw. Mom seemed to recognize everyone and gave everybody a hug. Mom's doctor stopped in and recorded her talking. Because she hadn't really woken up much all week, her doctor was having a hard time making a case that Mom would be a good candidate for a rehab facility. It felt so miraculous to have her as alert as she was. It felt a little like talking to someone as they were falling asleep. She had no memory of having a stroke and no sense of the amount of time she had been asleep.