On November 18th, our son and his lady were in the area for her family's Thanksgiving/Christmas dinner which was held on Sat the 17th.
They waited to return to Kansas so that we could have lunch together to celebrate the anniversary of my 29th birthday. Not gonna tell you how many times I have celebrated my 29th birthday, but it has been a few! :)
We all met up in Columbia, MO at Red Lobster--Gman Jr, His Lady T, my mom and dad, Gman and myself. Our son is 30, but when he turned the same 29 years old as me, I gave him permission to stay 29 also.
We stayed an extra long time chatting since Gman Jr and his Lady T were headed back to KS right after lunch. It was the perfect birthday lunch and present!
When we got up to leave, my mom fell over backwards on the floor. This was unusual for her since when she falls, it tends to be forward.
Mom said that when she got up, it felt as if her legs and feet had gone to sleep and just didn't hold her. When she was again standing, she held onto the table for a bit until she felt her legs and feet would hold her and then we laughed it off and left to say goodbye to our son and his lady and to head back to our home.
A wonderful birthday with family! And a surprise visit from our son! What could be better! The perfect gift!
The next morning, I received a call from my father that he was getting his breakfast when my mom began to scream in the bedroom. Upon entering the bedroom, dad couldn't understand anything that my mom was yelling. She squirmed off of the bed backwards where she slid off onto the floor when her legs wouldn't hold her up and she could not move.
Dad called the paramedics.
And then me.
Perfect! Just as he should have done!
They took her to the hospital where it was determined she had a stroke.
After testing, it was determined that it was a massive bleed in her head--and thus a massive stroke.
Later testing showed that she has had a small hole in her heart--probably since birth--which wouldn't have ever caused a problem healthwise.
However, in this case, she had a small blood clot that found it's way into her heart and through that little hole and up into her brain causing the bleed/stroke. The doctor said that was the only way that the clot could have gotten into her brain. A very slim chance happening.
The doctor said that my mother, who was just sleeping and couldn't move her right leg, arm or speak may never get better. The next 24 hours would determine what her body decided to do with the tissue surrounding the damaged area in her brain. Would the surrounding tissue die or begin to regenerate?
Well, mom is a tough lady!
She began to get better the next day and while she could only say yes or no, the tissue appeared to have decided to regenerate--or at least try. Many prayers of many people around the country--both friends and family--were doing their work.
God was answering that she would begin to heal!
Day by day mom was getting better. First she could put a couple of words together and then she could move her foot and stand. Her hand still didn't work but things were happening.
Mom was transferred to the rehabilitation hospital on Thanksgiving day where they would be working with her to strengthen and encourage the healing that had begun.
Gman, dad and I ate our Thanksgiving dinner at Ponderosa which was located next to the hospital and was having a Thanksgiving buffet for lunch. It was a good lunch and then off to the hospital to await the ambulance's arrival with mom.
The people at the rehab hospital were wonderful and well prepared to receive her. They were upbeat and really set the tone for recovery! Wonderful!
I can definitely recommend DePaul Rehabilitation Hospital in St. Louis, MO.
We celebrated mom's birthday at the Rehab hospital a few days later with a sugar free cake, a divine chocolate cake and a fruit tray. Gman, dad and I got there with the food and a bouquet of flowers and later, my brother Tom and his wife Nina and their daughter Heather and her hubby Matt came over to celebrate mom's birthday, too.
Mom finally was able to return home on Dec 12th. She was able to walk with a walker around the house and she is talking in sentences--sometimes slowly, but talking and able to converse. Her hand is working better all of the time, though still will take some time to strengthen.
All in all, she is a miracle from that day on Nov 19th when we were told that she may not even survive and if she did, may be vegetative for her remaining days--to walking through the house with her walker and talking with us!
Our Thanksgiving miracle!
So, just in case you were wondering where in the heck I have been hiding--now you know!
