One Month Ago

 

            Back on Sunday, I shared with you the start of a story about my mom. Today I thought I’d give you an update!

            It was just over a month ago when I received a phone call that the nurse called an ambulance for Mom, who seemed to be having heart-related issues. I made my way to their apartment, and after the EMTs took Mom to the hospital by ambulance, I took Dad with me to meet her.

            By the time we were able to see her, they had already run several tests and were waiting on results. Dad and I were with her when the doctor came in to share that she had, in fact, had a heart attack.

            Mind blown.

            She’s never had any known heart issues, so this was a complete surprise. After a whirlwind of conversations, the doctors wanted to transfer her to Fort Wayne so she could be seen by a cardiologist. We were unable to get into the first hospital we tried, but by afternoon, Mom was back in another ambulance, and Dad and I were back in the car, and the three of us started over in another emergency room.

            Eventually Mom asked me to bring Dad back home and let him get some rest. A few hours after we left, they completed her admission and said we would know more the next day.

            My sister arrived the next day to stay with Mom while she had a stent put in. They found a significant blockage in one artery and said she had more that would need to be addressed later. Ryan and I went up to see her that evening, and she was in great spirits!

            She came home the day after that, got right in for a hair refresh, and was feeling good!

            The next day, Ryan and I picked flowers for her at the Flower Patch, but before we could even deliver them, my phone rang again. It was the nurse, letting me know something wasn’t right and she thought Mom needed to head back to the emergency room. Ryan and I drove in to take her, Dad went along for the ride, and we spent the evening waiting on more test results.

            They ended up admitting her, and she stayed several more days, undergoing more tests. Ryan and I drove back and forth to see her almost every day and took Dad with us every chance we could.

            (One night, on our way home from visiting Mom, I took Dad with me to our church to see Ryan work on some of the construction projects. Another night I stuffed worship team binders in the back seat of the car while Ryan drove us to see her!)

            She was finally released from the hospital, so I went to pick her up, and she headed back for another hair refresh!

            She was happy to be home, but she still struggled to feel like herself. Isn’t that frustrating? You want to feel better so much and it just doesn’t happen.

            Last week, the cardiologist had her return to Fort Wayne to have another procedure. My sister took her and Dad, I met them there, and we all hung out for an entire day. This time she had four more stents put in, and she was back home yet that night.

            So far, she seems to be recovering really well. It has been a most unexpected month, but I am glad we are to this part of the story and not where we were one month ago. It’s been a lot to learn and absorb – for everyone!

            I’m happy to see her smiling again!