This has been one of the longest, worstest days in my life thus far.
At 5:10 this morning, my cell phone rang. The fact that I woke up to answer it is a small miracle in and of itself. It was my sister – in tears. She told me that Mom had been taken to the hospital… in an ambulance. She told me the story of what had happened, but the main point was that Daddy had gone with Mom, and Terra was currently home alone. Apparently my mom got very sick and then passed out… I will spare you the details though. Trust me – you want me to spare you the details. By 5:25, I was dressed and in the car on the way to Garland. I called in and left a message at work around 6:20… just as I was getting close to home. I should pause here to point out that I called Lance – I was in tears this time – to tell him what had happened, and he stayed on the phone with me all the way to Garland to help keep me calm. It was such a selfless thing to do. I couldn’t have made that drive without him… Every time I started thinking about it, I got all upset and started crying again. So I got to my parents’ house by 6:30 or so, and we headed to Baylor. When we got there, we weren’t allowed to go see her or wait in her room, so they sent us to the ER waiting room. My dad was in there with her, though, and came to give us periodic updates. He said that she was bleeding internally and that her blood pressure was so low when she reached the hospital that they couldn’t find a vein for her IV. They ended up putting an IV in each arm and one in her neck and gave her 2 blood transfusions and several bags of saline. After getting her blood pressure up enough to be stable (which took MANY hours – she wasn’t there until lunchtime), they took her to have a scope put down her throat to see what was causing the internal bleeding. During the time she was out, Dad, Terra, and I went home and cleaned up the bathroom where she’d gotten sick. More on that in a moment. We then headed back to the hospital and found out just a couple of hours ago that she has an ulcer right where her stomach meets her small intestine. She’s been unhooked from 2 out of 3 IVs and is sleeping very soundly right now, so we are all thankful for that. Terra and I are sitting here in her room, and Dad is out running errands and gathering necessary items for the impending 48-hour stay at the hospital that he has to look forward to.
This has been a very educational day for me. Here are some of the high points:
- I really witnessed my dad’s dedication to my mom today. He cleaned up that mess like a champ. Granted, he and I both looked like bandits (we had full-length yellow gloves and bandanas tied around our faces), but he took care of everything. It really impressed me. It was hard to be brave. I asked him if he was okay at one point while he was cleaning, and he responded, “I just keep reminding myself of how much I love your mom.” It really touched me. I pray that I will have that same dedication to Lance – not caring about my own discomfort… just doing what has to be done to care for the person I love.
- I learned that I really am the most assertive person in my family. Each time my mom would ask for something, I’d go hunt down a nurse and make it happen. Ha. And I thought that assertive side was only good for sending back food at restaurants!
- I realized again how much I adore my family. My sister and I have had a great time together today. In fact, I’ll venture to say that both of us would have been utterly miserable if the other had not been here today.
- I learned that the hospital feels it necessary to also treat all patients for frostbite. Visitors too. It’s like 58 degrees in here.
- I learned that the world will keep right on spinning without me. I called into work a couple of times today to follow up on some projects, and everything was going smoothly. It was a good reminder that things will not implode if I don’t do everything myself.
- I remembered again why I love that husband of mine. He and I had an argument last night (not a big one, and we talked through it), but it is never fun to have those arguments separately and not be able to talk them out face to face. He bent over backwards for me today. He called and texted continuously – and he answered every time I called (does not usually happen when at camp) – and he talked to the camp director and got permission to leave at the drop of a hat if I needed him. I do wish he could have been here just because I can always handle things better… but he was just precious.
Well, after my dad gets back, Terra and I will be heading back to the ol’ NRH for the night, and I am really dreading tomorrow at work just because I am already so, SO exhausted from today… but my mom is going to be okay, and it will be Friday, and Lance is going to be home tomorrow, and I am going to be a brave little soldier.
Thank you, Lord, for providing us all with strength… and for keeping my mommy safe.
