Back in the Saddle

On August 3, I got a call that my Mom had suffered a stroke.  It affected her entire right side, and she was numb from the top of her head to the tip of her big toe.  She got to the hospital within an hour, and therefore qualified to receive a miracle drug called TPA which stops the damage.  For the past two weeks I have watched her steadily recover to a point where she can walk and go home. Thankfully it never affected her speech or her mind's ability to problem solve.  Thanks to the Patricia Neal Rehab Center for providing excellent therapy. 

Amazing Recovery

When a blood clot lodges in your left thalamus,

And your right side goes numb, it causes a fuss,

The key is to get to the ER as fast as you can,

To get the TPA drug and a quick CAT-­SCAN,

My Mom experienced this trauma last week, suddenly,

A stroke was diagnosed relatively easily,

She was monitored closely in ICU,

For the first 24 hours then nobody knew,

Just how fast her arm and leg would recover,

She is amazingly resilient and we would discover,

That at 83, she is still as tough as nails,

When she breezed through rehab with wind in her sails,

In a week’s time, she was already walking about,

You can count her down, but you can’t count her out,

She is a 7-year breast cancer survivor,

With her husband of 66 years there beside her,

They both have had their medical battles,

They’ve been knocked off their horses, but got back in their saddles,

We can’t forget my Dad’s heart disease,

And the fact that they both have had replacement knees,

Now we can add stroke victim to the list,

But the positives are many, and here lies the twist,

They ARE still kicking, although not quite as high,

AND they still have each other on which to rely!

Written:  8/9/2017

Tammy Harvey