(I realize this post will be a lot of words, but this is mainly for me to remember in the future!)
Last Sunday my mom suffered a stroke. She went to Sioux City to help out her mom, who's health is declining. She picked up lunch and got to my grandma's house around 12:30. After using the restroom, she sat down at the table and her arm immediately was as hard as a rock. My grandma noticed she looked strange and she wasn't making any sense. Gma thought she may be having a stroke since her left side of her face was drooping. She asked mom to smile and she couldn't. So, she called her neighbor (a nurse) and she came running down the street. Within minutes they called the ambulance and took her to the ER. After the MRI and other tests, they found that she had a small stroke (size of a dime) above her right ear. Her whole left side of her body was numb (throat, hand, arm, leg, face). When my brother called me at 1:30, I was shocked. I was confused. I thought he was talking about my grandma! Mom does have Factor Five disease, which makes her more prone to blood clots, which later made more sense as to why she had a stroke at an early age of 55.
Being 3 hours away doesn't help. My dad and brother went up to see her and got there around 5. She was doing ok, but it was apparent that she was going to need a lot of help. There were so many questions going on in my head. Will the numbness be permanent? What will be the long-term side effects? Is she going to ever have the same life she had again? I prayed and called out to God so much. I wept so much. I couldn't stand to be 3 hours away from her.
So, Monday morning I left before the sun came up to see her. I picked up my grandma first and then we headed to St. Luke's hospital. When I first walked in, my heart sank. She still looked beautiful, but looked sad and in pain. She was in the ICU but moved to a regular hospital room later that afternoon. Her left side of her face didn't look like hers...so droopy and sad. So incredibly different than the cheery, bright-eyed mom I've always known. She was still as sweet as could be. I rubbed her hair for hours that day. Her head was pounding with a headache where the stroke was and this was the only thing that made her feel better. She cried a lot. Many things and thoughts brought her to tears. She also laughed a lot! She was quite funny at times.
I'll never forget the 3 days I spent with her at St. Luke's. I bonded so much with her. She continued to gain more strength and we saw improvements hourly and daily. On Tuesday, my dad, uncle, grandma and I were eating lunch in the cafeteria. On our way back up to the room, my grandma started to feel light-headed. She told me this and leaned up against the wall. The next thing I saw was my grandma passed out and falling backwards. I reached out and tried to catch her. I did keep her head from hitting the ground, but it was nearly impossible to completely carry her since she was all dead weight. I couldn't believe this was happening! I thought she had a heart attack since last month she had a small one. The nurses called a Code Blue overhead and about 50 nurses and other people were there to help. She came to and was doing okay. She had a large skin tear on her left arm and they wanted to check her out at the ER. So I went with her while my dad went back to my mom.
After doing tests, they found an irregular heart beat, thick blood and other signs that pointed to trouble. They wanted to admit her to the hospital. After 5 hours, we moved up to a room on the same floor as my mom! I felt like I was on Father of the Bride pt. 2, where the dad was split between hospital rooms with his wife and daughter!
Well, fast forward to today, my mom and grandma are both doing better. Mom has transferred to Methodist Younkers Rehab in Des Moines and grandma just moved to an assisted living facility in Sioux City. Mom has a long road to recovery ahead. She is doing so well though! She can move most of her left side, but it takes more effort and thought now. The most frustrating thing for her is her left side of her face. It is still slightly droopy, which makes it very hard to eat. She asked me to specifically pray for this last night. I've been praying all day for her. When I talked to her tonight, she was so excited because she is starting to feel itchy on that side of the face and the nurses said that probably means her feeling is coming back again! Praise the Lord!
There are many things I can thank the Lord for during this difficult time. Here are a few:
- God allowed her to NOT be driving when the stroke happened
- He brought her to Sioux City, where her mom and sisters could be around
- Grandma fell in the hospital and was well taken care of, instead of at home and alone
- Grandma finally warmed up to the idea of being in assisted living care
- Watching the body of Christ come together and uplift my mom in prayer and in other ways
One of the most amazing things I saw last week was the way my mom carried herself during this difficult time. Not once did she complain. She is an amazing woman of God and I am incredibly blessed to be her daughter. I love you, mom!
*If you want to read daily updates, go to www.caringbridge.org and type in kristiannsmith*
