That Call You Never Want To Get

Came this morning. Mom was in ICU. She got sick last night and everyone suspected she was having another stroke. They called the paramedics and then took her to the ER where they waited until the wee hours. She seemed much improved so Sis & BIL headed home. Then she crashed. She was moved to ICU at 5 a.m. this morning.

I drove down in record time and arrived in time for the second visitation. She was on a respirator and her hands were restrained. By 5 p.m., she was off the respirator and the restraints came off. We went in at 8 p.m. and she was in such a deep sleep she could not be wakened.

Tomorrow her doctors will all meet to discuss the next steps. Her pulmonary specialist, her cardiologist, her primary care physician, and her neurologist.

In the meantime, there are two other families hunkered down in the ICU waiting room. Huge families. They come with infants, toddlers, and pre-schoolers. Teens with ear-plugs. There is all assortment of Alabama Crimson Tide apparel--from T-shirts to trucker caps. There is one young woman who comes out crying each time she visits her loved one. There is one woman who never stops talking. She talked for four hours solid at one point. Now the sound of her voice makes me cringe.

One observation about the hospital. The waiting room is near the same day surgery entrance, so we pass through fairly often. There is a wheel chair at the entrance that must be four feet wide. Then, there is a sign in the ladies room "Weight Capacity for Toilet is 500 lbs." Is anyone else frightened by this?