It’s a humbling and dark moment when you realize how finite your reality can truly be. And, most likely, this realization will come hurdling into your atmosphere with such unexpected strength that your breath is knocked right out of you.

A few weeks ago I was making an Ikea to grab some storage options for our new houseI had never been there before so I was using my cell phone to navigate. As I am driving and hearing Google Maps direct me to get off the motorway, I hear a text come in. Then another. And another. And they just keep rolling in. I look down to see texts from my brother and sister saying: “Call me now”, “STAT”, “Emergency”. My heart sinks. I start shaking and I frantically [and illegally] attempt to call them back. My brother answers and his voice is shaking; I immediately know something is terribly wrong. He says that my mom has suffered a stroke and is being taken to the hospital in an ambulance. He starts to cry. He cannot verbalize what I know is happening, mom may not make it. I immediately book a plane ticket and start the dreaded journey into the unknown.

Rewind back an hour and my sister is just waking up to my mom tapping her toe, sitting on the couch. As my sister approaches her, mom says “Hi!”. My sister senses something “off” and comes around to get a closer look at my mom. My sweet, kind, generous mother is slumped over on her left side and slurring her words. She’s repeating herself and not forming full sentences. “Let dogs out.” “Dogs go out.” “Let dogs go.” My sister immediately sits beside her and props her up against herself. She calls out to my nieces and nephews and orders my niece to call 911 and my nephew to call my brother for help. They respond quickly and calmly. Help arrives quickly and my mom is packed into the back of an ambulance and whisked away. My sister saved my mom’s life.

Present day, my mom is home and walking and talking fairly normally. She has some left sided weakness and her mouth droops a bit on the left side when she smiles. She often ignores the left side of her field of vision and is slow to move her eyes in that direction. However, these are all signs of marked improvement. She went from complete left sided weakness, to nearly independent in a matter of a week. She definitely has a long road of physical therapy and conscious efforts to form new pathways for menial tasks like looking at me while I sit on her left side, but I will take that any day. I still have my mom and she is even more cherished as a result.

❤ Kimberly

 Signs of a Stroke—Think FAST– Time is Brain

F: Facial– Can they smile? Do you notice a droop on one side?

A: Arms– Can they lift both arms? Is one weak?

S: Speech– Is their speech slurred or muddled?

T: Time: Time to call 911