Wonder Woman (Thu, 1 Jul 2010, 4:30PM)

Eleven weeks ago, on April 11th, Jack made his usual Sunday morning call to mom. She told him she was sick and nauseated, and for the first time in 10 years, she didn't want to talk. Jack's intuition that something was very wrong, plus Bill's fast action, probably saved mom's life. Jack called Bill and me to let us know, and Bill immediately jumped into his truck and drove three hours to Rocky Point. When Bill arrived, mom was weak and disoriented. Bill convinced her to let him take her to the hospital, where they were able to bring her back from the brink.

In the weeks between then and now, Bill and Jack and I have done a tag-team relay to make sure that one of us was always with her. In the ER she had a pulse of 27, and in the past weeks her heart has stopped and then restarted numerous times--in fact, I probably saw 50 myself. And finally she got a pacemaker, which brings us to today, where she is pretty much back to her normal self. It's an amazing recovery. Today she did laundry and hung it out on the line. She made several trips downstairs to bring out some of her summer stuff for her deck. I brought up her patio umbrella, and the glass tops for her patio tables, and moved her picnic table to its summer location. She watered all her plants, and she is now in the kitchen happily making dinner for us. What a turnaround.

Yesterday in The Beauty Center, I overheard her telling her hairdresser how grateful she is to have kids who care enough to look after her, and family and friends who stood by her. Mom's habit has always been to say grace before every dinner, and for the past week or so, the themes have been thanks for her successful outcome, and a wish that she can in turn help others to get through tough times the way everyone has helped her.

I am leaving tomorrow to head back north, and I am feeling OK about leaving because I think she is back on her feet. She will be 85 years old in a few days on July 6th, and as she describes herself, she is a "tough old bird." She is also an amazing and wonderful person and I love her a lot.