Around 5:00 a.m. on December 1, 2014, after just returning home from celebrating Thanksgiving with my family, the phone rang. When the phone rings at 5:00 a.m., it's never good. My husband answered the phone and I immediately sat straight up in bed. He said, "it's your sister" and he handed me the phone. She proceeded to tell me, in a fairly calm manner, that my mom had fallen down a flight of stairs at home and she was in the emergency room. She didn't have much more information and told me she would call me back soon. I didn't panic at first, because my sister didn't seem to be panicking. About five minutes later, she called back, this time, with panic in her voice, she told me that our mom had stopped breathing briefly and they were going to life flight her to a bigger hospital 45 minutes away. I jumped up, stuffed a few random things in a bag and called my dear friend, Lisa. Through tears, I explained to her what had happened and asked her to come over and make the 3.5 hour drive to the hospital with me. I didn't know at the time what was going on or what was going to happen to my mom I wanted my husband to stay home with the kids in case they needed him. Lisa, being the amazing friend she is, didn't even hesitate. She threw on some clothes and was at my house within 10 minutes.
During the long drive, my sister called with updates. My mom had been transported to a larger hospital, she had a breathing tube in and was unconscious in the ICU. We made it to the hospital in record time. When I first saw my mom, lying in that bed, unconscious, hooked up to all kinds of machines and tubes, I lost it. I was not at all prepared to see her like that. For the next three days, she remained unconscious. The only thing the doctors could tell us is that she sustained a serious brain injury from the fall. They felt confident that she would eventually come to, but they could not say when. We kept a constant vigil around my mom. She has a big family and so does my dad. Family and friends were there everyday, praying over her. My sister, my dad and my brother all took turns sleeping in the ICU room with her.
After three days, she began to come to very slowly. She first started to move her fingers a little and then she began to mumble a bit. Over the next few days, she was able to say a few things, most of them not making sense, but the doctors still saw it as progress. She did not open her eyes for more than a couple seconds at a time during this time. She was eventually moved to a regular room and slowly made more progress. After about a week, she was transferred to a rehab facility. She went through intense physical, occupational and speech therapy for three weeks. She finally came home on New Year's Eve day.
My sister and I spent many days/nights at my parents' home during the months of January and February. We would each take a shift of a few days at a time. Back at home, our friends and loved ones were so very generous to pitch in and help with our children, bring our family meals, and offer their love and support. I was truly amazed by the generosity and kindness that was shown to our family during this time.
My mom has no recollection of the fall, the hospital stay, the rehabilitation or the first couple months of being at home. Her long term memory is pretty good, but she has trouble with her short term memory. Physically, she is doing very well. She is exercising, cooking and socializing with friends and family. Her vision was affected by the fall and she has not been able to return to work or drive yet. She was a big golfer and hopes to be able to play again.
When all this happened, my mom was my main concern, of course. Everything else kind of came to a halt. We did celebrate Christmas, but it was very bittersweet without my mom there. I did my best to hold it together for my kids' sake, but caring for my mom and helping out my dad really took a toll on all of us. Homework sometimes didn't get completed, laundry piled up, and we had cereal for dinner on many nights. Thankfully we all survived and and my mom is on the mend.
Over the past couple of months, I have gotten back in to my old routines at home - constantly chauffeuring children around town, volunteering at school and squeezing in some design work.
As a matter of fact, before my mom's accident, I managed to tackle some big projects around the house too. I do so enjoy decorating my own home and helping others make their homes beautiful.
Soon, various projects that have been taking up a good amount of my time will be coming to and end and I am making a commitment to work more. With summer right around the corner, e-designs are going to be keeping me busy. I promise to be back soon to share some progress shots from around here, several designs I have worked on recently and an e-design special offer.
I can't tell you how appreciative I am for all the emails I received inquiring about my mom or just simply checking in. They meant a lot to me. This blog has been such a great outlet for me over the past few years. I'm just not ready to give up on it.
