This Weekend

My fathers birthday was Saturday...

5:00 p.m. Saturday

We had cake and sang.  It was very nice.  Mom was laughing and glad to be getting over her recent cold.  Michael was on call, so I headed home around 9:00 - full of cake and talk of Friday.

11:00 p.m.  

Dad called.  He was taking mom to the hospital - she was having trouble breathing.  I left the house as fast as I could.  Thinking the whole time that she was fine.

11:30 p.m. 

Dad called again, crying (dad never cries).  He took her to the fire station instead of the hospital himself.  The were working on her and told him to call family.  I was about 45 minutes from the hospital.  I started really speeding at this point and talking to my mom in my head.  "Stay strong mom... "

12:00 p.m.

I pulled in to the emergency room, and dad was waiting out front for me.  He hugged me and said they had her on a ventilator but couldn't get her heart rate or blood pressure under control.  The doctor told him "We are doing everything we can to save her."  She was fine this afternoon...

1:00 a.m. Sunday

Michael gets there - they let him leave work.  I was so glad to have him there.  I didn't want to cry in front of dad, he was falling to pieces and needed me.  I met Michael in the parking lot and cried for a long time.  We went back in just in time to meet with the doctor.  They think she had a heart attack.  Her lungs were full of fluid and that is why she couldn't breath.  We got to go back and see her.  All of us (which is breaking rules at the hospital - a bad sign).  She was laying on the table, a machine breathing for her, tubes everywhere and her right arm was hanging off the bed.  We went and talked to her and held her hand.  Dad is kissing her forehead and cheeks.   We sit and wait for the doctors.  

3:00 a.m. 

The do an ultrasound of her heart, in the room.  The sedative they have given her starts to wear off, and she is struggling to sit up, gagging on the tube in her throat and tears are streaming down her face.  We talk to her and Michael pushed her down onto the table.  The front of my shirt is soaked.  This can't be happening.

5:00 a.m.

She is finally stable and going to the ICU.  We aren't allowed to visit her until later - so we reluctantly head home.  We get home at 6:00 and I fretfully slept until 9:00.  Talked to dad - there was no heart attack.  She has and infection in her blood, signs of bronchitis and a heart defect no one ever knew about.  All of that together - somehow almost killed her.  Mom is now doing well and they are talking about taking her of the ventilator today.

Today

As of right now, mom is on a normal cardiac floor.  Off the ventilator, up and walking around, talking and hugging us all.  They are running more test to see what they need to do to fix her heart.  If the condition in her heart was untreated, the cardiologist said that she would have had a fatal heart attack one day with no warning.  They are battling the infection and winning.  

I am so glad my mom is still here with us, and that my little one will get to meet this amazing lady soon.  I feel very blessed to get reminded of the things that matter the most.  I am so lucky to have my mom and family.