We know fear that takes your voice and scrambles your thoughts. We have heard news on the phone that transports everything but your body somewhere else.
One of those times was four years ago yesterday. I will put the links below. I have written about it. Not all has been published. We are still processing details.
But the word we used last night on the phone was GRATEFUL.
How does one get from trauma to grateful?
HELPERS
These are the folks in my prayers last night. I messaged one. The others I barely knew at the time. So I will tell their roles instead.
How each person played a role in saving Rose.
Rose’s suitemate heard Rose scratching on the bathroom door and opened it to find her on the floor.
Rose’s RA was alerted and called 911.
EMTs transported Rose to the local hospital. During the ride one of them switched the seizure diagnosis to stroke.
I called a girl on her hall who told me she saw Rose leave on a stretcher.
I called Debbie, Rose’s friend’s mom, who went to the ER with her husband Tim.
Debbie called me from the ER to say Rose was refusing the tPA shot. I screamed “Take it!” into the phone. It was given.
Rose was transported to a bigger hospital. Debbie and Tim went, also.
Rose’s dad and I had been driving in the dark. We got updates from Debbie as we traveled. Rose’s left side was paralyzed. She was talking. She was laughing with Debbie.
Tim told us which exit to get off on, which road to take, which door to enter. All we did was follow his calm instructions.
We saw her. She was moving and talking.
She did her assignments in ICU. She emailed her professors. She refused to stay in the hospital. She returned to class a week later.
Rose graduated two months later.
Was there damage? Damn straight there was.
Is she 100% back? Not yet.
Is she stronger. Yes! Are we? In our own way, yes.
It took two years to go up and down on drugs that did not work.
Another six months to level off and stop the seizures. A year for her to drive again.
She lost playing the piano and Spanish. Small potatoes compared to other possibilities.
There was a pause on the phone last night. We were all tranported for a moment to that terrible night four years ago.
Then we came back to the present.
GRATEFUL
Seizure Mama/ Flower Roberts
An Up-date on Rose
The Fear Face
