Excitement!

On Wednesday afternoon our 90 year old neighbor knocked on our door and told us that her 80+ year old friend in the park thinks she had a stroke. I ran to get our friend Kris who used to work on ambulances, Norma grabbed aspirins and her and Kris headed over to the friend's trailer. They arrived to find her alert and talking but maybe a little confused. She was missing a block of time and awoke to find her clothes scattered, something very unusual for her. I rushed over to the woman's daughter's nearby trailer where she was sleeping in preparation for her night shift. She is a sound sleeper so I had to go inside and yell very loudly to awaken her. I gave her the basic details, she dressed in about ten seconds and ran to her mom's where it was determined that no one had yet called 911. It was one of those "I thought you called" things. Anyway, 911 was quickly called and I walked to the gate to show them the way to the trailer.

She was soon on her way to the hospital and I followed, driving the daughter in her own car. She spent the trip catching her breath (remember, I had yelled her awake in the middle of her 'night') and calling in to work to say she would not be in. It was the first time I had driven a standard transmission in 20 years but we made it to the hospital without needing an ambulance of our own. :)

At the hospital she found her mom's bed and reported back to me that she seemed fine. She then asked me if I could find her something to eat and I found a couple of slices of bread and some cheese which although not gourmet dining, served the purpose. When I determined there was nothing more I could do, I called a cab and went home. It was about 7:00 PM.

An MRI showed that the woman actually did have a stroke and she was admitted. She is not exhibiting any of the scary stroke symptoms so we are all keeping our fingers crossed. They do not know when she actually had the stroke and it was probably several hours before the women got the aspirin into her so she is very lucky. She is a very strong, active woman so I am sure she will take all this in stride and will soon be back to her normal self.

It was good that everything came together quickly after the initial discovery by our neighbor (the hero of the day). Not everything went perfectly and I don't think they ever do but it could have been a lot worse.