Personal Meaning of the Word "Stroke"

I wrote this while in the ICU this afternoon.

What a difference a day makes.  One never knows what might occur at any hour of any day.  As I sit here watching my dear mother moaning with every breath she takes, wondering why she has to suffer, I think about Wednesday morning and how normal the day began ~ no hint of what was to come.

Mom has endured much physical suffering throughout her life.  The most recent being the terrible pain she experiences off and on with her spinal stenosis since 2005.  Now, this stroke has taken the Mother I know and before me in this bed is a broken hurt woman.  It hurts so much to see her like this.  The strong TPA clot busting drug they gave her, did repair her mouth droop, she is saying words, and her left side is now responding.  But, she is showing signs of confusion, pain, and she has large bruises on her body from her fall when she had the stroke.

She was a mere five steps from her chair that she was walking to.  She fell in the kitchen on the hard tile, hitting her chin on the edge of the counter and scraping her throat all the way down her neck.  Her glasses put a small gash in her nose. Thank God I was there.  I heard her fall.  When I saw her face, I knew immediately and dialed 911.

She didn't sleep last night.  She needs rest.  She needs to eat but only took a few sips of some juice this afternoon and didn't want more.

They will be moving her from ICU tomorrow to the Stroke Unit where she will receive special care, physical therapy, and speech therapy if needed.  

So now we watch and wait and pray.  Please, dear God, help my Mother return to the woman she was Wednesday morning ~ the woman who has always had the strongest faith in You and who says many prayers every single day.  She's not able to pray right now.  Please hear my prayers and the prayers of all my friends and family on her behalf.  Amen.