Stroke

In 1991, my two friends, Del and Chris, went with me to Williamsburg VA for vacation. We had a good time at Busch Gardens and Jamestown. We stayed up there for a few days and then drove back to Columbia. The next morning, I was reading the newspaper in the living room with my father. My mother was in her room resting after breakfast. I went in to read something to her, and she was sitting on her bed babbling. I couldn't understand what she was saying. I walked back out of her room and back to the living room where Daddy was. I sat back down, and after a few minutes, I told Daddy that I thought something was wrong with Mother. He went in to see, and came out and said call an ambulance. Mother had had a stroke. What if I had been quicker? Would she have gotten help sooner? I will never know. We got her to the hospital. Daddy was crying. The hospital was across the street from our church, so a bunch of people from there came in to see Daddy in the emergency room. I was there too, but none of the ministers asked me how I was. Only two secretaries did--Mrs. St. John and Mrs. Porter. They were the only people to care about me. Mother had a massive stroke. She was unable to talk, walk or see. Her sight had gone from macular degeneration, which struck all in her family. Another thing to look forward to. She went to rehab for several weeks, and they performed a miracle to allow her to walk and speak again. She had a couple of strokes after that, and she also fell and broke a hip, so in her later years, she couldn't walk, and I had to interpret her speech to Daddy. It was a frustrating time for all. After Daddy died, Mother lived on another 5 years. We never thought she would outlive him, but it was in the genes. Watch out for the signs of a stroke. It is one of my regrets of not seeing it sooner.