A miracle!

Hi All,

I didn't know where to post this. It doesn't have anything to do with weight loss. But I just want to shout out to the world how excited and relieved and happy I am today. I've experienced a success like I've never experienced before, and I want to tell everyone.

My mother has been very sick for about three years. She is a severe diabetic, has congestive heart failure and COPD in addition to a number of other things. Well, the doctors finally determined she needed open-heart surgery. She needed a valve replaced as well as a single bypass. We were terrified, especially since one said she was too weak and sick and would not make it through, but others said she'd be okay and they said it was her only choice.

Long story short, my mother made it with flying colors through the surgery. We were so relieved. I went home that night, seeing that she was still under anesthesia, put my phone in one room to charge and passed out from exhaustion. Well, about an hour later, my sisters who were in town were pounding on my door. They said the hospital called and my mother wasn't waking up. It was so scary. We rushed to the hospital and they said she was unresponsive and that she should be up by then.

Long story short, during the surgery, my mother had several massive strokes. The debris from her heart and plaque and blood clots sprayed up into her brain. They said it was widespread and severe brain damage.

We were devastated. One doctor told my sister not to leave; she was supposed to return home the next day. Another said we should talk to hospice and they gave us a "guarded" prognosis, which is one step above hopeless. They said chances were slim to none that she'd ever regain awareness. For three days, we tried to rouse her, and she moved one arm a little, but they said her other arm was paralyzed and the side of her face. I didn't care about the arm. I was more concerned with her mind.

I was also focused on the fact that before the surgery, she was transferred to the hospital where the surgeon was, and she was "counseled" and made to sign papers. My mother, who was ill and disoriented from being moved and terrified. i wasn't there at the time because I was picking my sister up from the airport. So, somewhere in the fine print of one of the many forms she signed, they said there was a chance of a stroke. They certainly did not tell her the truth: it was a probability that this would happen. She met every risk factor for post-operative stroke. If she'd known, she would not have done the surgery. I am sure of it.

I mourned her all last night. I'd given up hope I'd ever even hear her voice again, or that she'd ever look at me and know who I was. I was completely despondent. I also decided to work today because everyone else was with her and in my job, it's very hard to be out (I'm a teacher, and it involves getting subs and preparing lessons and such and I thought it woudl be less stressful to go).

Anyway, long story short again (I know, this is long), but she woke up and started talking today!!!!! I couldn't believe it. When the nurse called me to tell me, I almost dropped the phone. It was the last thing I thought I'd hear. Then, I feared it was only temporary and she'd lapse into the vegetative state she'd been in the last three days. But no, all day I kept in touch with my sisters and she was talking and even making jokes. My sister put her on the phone and she told me she loved me. I never thought I'd hear her voice again and she told me she loved me.

She still has a long, long way to go and she's not out of the woods yet. We've read that those who have a stroke or series of strokes like her have a high chance of another one and/or a heart attack. But the neurologist is hopeful and says whatever the tests show tomorrow, her amazing improvement in just a day makes him think she'll continue to improve and hopefully regain most of her functionality. The other thing is, I'd feared if she ever awoke that she'd be blind since the part of her brain that controls vision was badly hit. Well, she seems to be able to see and hear. Her one arm is still not moving, but she did feel when I tickled it. If that's the worst thing she's left with, so be it.

Anyway, it's a success I wanted to share with you and anyone who will listen (okay, okay, I even told the guy at the gas station!!!). I have never been very religious, but today, I am a believer in miracles and some higher being because whoever that is, he or she touched my mother and brought her back to me.