Eunice 1934 to 2008, a short story by WriterKenneth. Date added: 2008-11-08. Times viewed: 598.
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- Intro: Life and death.
- EUNICE
"You need to go to the doctor mamma. I told her. "I will take you."
"I can drive myself." She said.
It started with flu like symptoms then she started holding fluid. She took over-the-counter medicine but that did not help.
Finally she went with me to the doctor.
"You have heart failure." The doctor said. "You must go to the hospital now."
Eunice came out teary eyed.
"What did he say?" I asked.
"I have heart failure."
"I will drive you to the hospital from here." I said.
She slowly made her way into the red Ranger she loved so much.
The emergency room was full. The only vacant chairs were broken.
She sat in the emergency waiting room until the wee hours in the morning to be seen.
When she came home they gave her medicine to keep the fluid off.
It was early in the morning and I had just started watching an old horror movie I saw with my cousin and sister when I was young.
I heard a loud thump.
Has my brother slipped and fallen again? I thought to myself.
A few moments later I got up to investigate. In the darkness I heard a unusual sound like water being blown through air.
I turned the light on and in the other room I could see mother lying in the floor. The sound came from her breathing.
I tried to rouse her but it did not work. At one point I thought she died but I kept rubbing her arm and talking to her.
I ran outside to get my brother who was with his friend in the garage.
The ambulance came and at first they didn't seem to know what to do.
Mother had busted her mouth and eye open in the fall. Blood had pooled on the floor.
Seeing her in the hospital was frightening. Her face was discolored black, yellow and blue.
It seemed she fell when she got up. she had a long time problem with her knees. Was that the cause of her fall or something else?
They said they think she had a stroke.
After being released from the hospital again they wanted her to go to a physical therapy center and stay there for a while. It would help her to overcome the stroke and fall.
Mother was not pleased with the place and got my sister to bring her home.
Mother seemed to be getting well. She went to my brother's house with her husband Robert and when she came back she got her foot caught in the carport carpet and fell.
It was back to the hospital again. They said she broke her hip. The operated. she survived.
Mother was sent to a different physical therapy place. She stayed there for about a month.
It was hard for her but she tried. I was surprised.
Eunice was always a strong woman physically and in other ways. When I saw she could not open a can or jar anymore it startled me.
After coming home from the physical thereapy center mother's condition went up and down. she ended up falling again and hitting the back of her head and she went back to the hospital.
After a visit to the Neurologist she came home with some new medicine, a blood thinner. The next morning she was nauseated and vomiting from the medicine. The ambulance was once called again by a visiting nurse. They took her to the older hospital and not the newer one against my wishes.
I visited her on sunday unexpectedly. It was a visit I'm glad I made. She was nauseated again and the nurse gave her a shot which did not seem to help.
The next morning I got a call from the hospital around 5:00 AM.
"Your mother was taken to ICU this morning as a precautionay measure because she had some stomach bleeding due to the blood thinner she was on. She probably won't be in there long."
My brother and I went to the hospital. She was in ICU. She was conciuos and coherent but childlike.
She complained of pain in her Back and legs. She wanted me to help her out of bed so she could leave.
The doctors said the blood thinner made her bleed from her stomach. She needed blood and they were having a hard time finding the right type.
They talked to my family about what to do, procedures and putting in a first line to keep her alive.
When I went back in my mothers condition had worsened. She threw her hands, her voice seemed gurbled.
She kept saying "I love you all."
The nurses put my mother under. She never came back.
The blood they had wasn't helping and the doctor said her liver and kidneys were failling. Later they said they thought she had had a heart-attack too.
The doctors started talking about whether to try to resuccitate her if her heart stopped. They did not recommend it because it could break her ribs, punture a lung or her heart. I did not see what it mattered because if they didn't try she would be dead anyway.
Then the doctors recommended taking off the breathing tube and medicines. I protested. I felt she may get better with time. she was always a fighter and was still holding on. Against my wishes they took her medicines away and the breathing machine. I turned and walked to the nurse one last time to see if they would put her back on. They refused.
I held my mother's hand as she died. I kissed her forhead.
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