Last night I slept a few hours straight, then woke often thinking about my mother. I made myself stay in bed until close to sunrise. Then I was up and back to hospital. She was actually speaking even better than she was when we left last night. The nurses completed neurological tests every hour all through the night. Even with a lack of sleep, my mom was functioning as normal. The doctor came in for his visit and was pleasantly surprised at her progress. We asked about the cause of the stroke and he talked of a couple possible scenarios. He pulled up the computer screen with the pictures of the CT scan and showed us where the blocked artery was. I was enthralled by the 3D image that could be turned this way and that to get a better view. He said they would like to do an MRI to get a better look at things. I learned that there are a couple different types of strokes and the medication they gave her worked only for a blood clot. The doctor spent time with us, explained things to us, and made sure all our questions were answered before he left the room. A little later a woman came in and offered prayer and Holy Communion which we were glad to share. We told her my mom had a stroke yesterday and she couldn’t believe it. After the 24 hour watch period in the ICU, my mom was transferred to a room in the stroke patient area. Her new nurse who works with stroke patients all the time said that it was rare to see such a recovery as my mom’s. She said it was the best case scenario in which everyone involved did exactly the right things in the right timing. She explained how important it is to get to the hospital right away with stroke symptoms so treatment can be effective. My mom was elated to be able to sit up, move around, and eat. After a while the physical therapist came in to assess her and was also surprised at my mom’s ability to move as she had previously. Unfortunately they were unable to do the MRI because the voltage used by the pacemaker is so high and my mom is dependent upon it. So, they did another CT scan. We look forward to seeing those results tomorrow. My dad and I left this evening exhausted but still very optimistic, incredibly grateful, and somewhat overwhelmed by my mom’s awesome recovery.

I Found God today in the continued awareness of my mom’s miraculous recovery.