My Grandma Dodged a Bullet

Yesterday my grandmother was talking on the phone and suddenly had trouble speaking. I talked to her for a little bit and when she told me she couldn't hardly talk, I noticed the muscles around her mouth weren't moving. I told her that I knew exactly what was wrong with her -- she wasn't getting enough blood flow in her brain. So I twice asked if she wanted me to call someone (I had 911 in mind) and she told me no because her sister was on her way. They tell you to call 911 in these situations and not to wait around, but I guess it's hard for me to take charge around my grandmother. Her speech returned to normal, but I waited for my aunt to show up. Once my aunt got there, we called 911. I told them I thought it was a stroke. They came and got my grandmother.

The interesting part of all of this is the role I played. I was the one who was completely calm the entire time. My grandmother was freaked out, but was a little concerned about what was going on. My aunt was scared to death and out of breath (not good since she has breathing troubles). I smiled and talked gracefully to them and said I felt my grandmother would be just fine and that it was just a very mild problem. My grandmother didn't look as concerned anymore, and my aunt calmed down. So I was kind of the one controlling the emotions.

We got to the hospital, and eventually they told us they suspected a mini-stroke. They said since her speech came back quickly after losing it, the pipes were probably thinned and slowed blood flow down temporarily. Thank goodness it was only 5 minutes though, because my understanding has always been that brain damage begins to happen around 15 minutes.

My grandmother is still there. They said they'd keep her for 48 hours. I hope they solve the problem so that this is less likely to happen again. But it's also her responsibility I think to begin eating more healthy.