Today is Sunday. Friday afternoon Jenn called me and told me that Mom wasn't good and she had just called an ambulance. Let me back up. My brother, sister and mother had told me earlier in the week that it sounded like Mom had allergies. We all thought it was due to the heavy pollen. On Friday Jenn called Mom and said she could hardly talk, so she told her she was coming right over. When she got there she took one look at Mom and asked her which hospital she wanted to go to. Mom didn't argue, which was a sign to us that she really did feel bad.
When the ambulance arrived they told Jenn that her b/p and her lungs were good. Jenn planned to follow the ambulance to the hospital. When she arrived, Mom wasn't there. She got a call from the paramedic that told her the original hospital was full, so they were taking her to Clayton General. She also told her that Mom wasn't doing great and she better hurry. Jenn called me sobbing as she sped to the hospital. She asked me what she would do if she got there and Mom wasn't alive. Thank God, that didn't happen. When she arrived Mom was on 100% oxygen and still having trouble breathing. Jenn told me about an hour later that the doctor had told Mom that she needed to be intubated. Mom said she didn't want to and the doctor then asked her what her last wish was, because she wouldn't make it through the night.
Jenn stepped out in the hall to talk to the doctor. When they returned to the room Mom voluntarily said she agreed to be intubated. They had diagnosed her with severe pneumonia and she needed her body to rest while the antibiotics worked on helping her heal.
I don't know why I didn't jump in the car right then. I don't think I knew what intubation meant. The next day, at Blane's party, my mother called and said she didn't think the outcome would be good. We went through a pneumonia issue last summer, so I thought it was going to be a replay of that, but Mama said it was a lot worse.
After Blane's party Jeff and I decided that the best thing to do was for Ellen and I to drive to Jonesboro asap. Then he and Lucas could fly down if necessary. That way we'd have a car to get home in.
Grandmother died as I was in route to Atlanta and I was determined that wouldn't happen again. Looking back it wasn't that smart, but Ellen and I drove through thunderstorms and flash flood watches to arrive in Jonesboro at about 2am this morning.
When I saw Mom this morning, she didn't look good. Like I said, I didn't know what intubation meant. She looks like she's in a coma. Jenn and I think she responded to us with a shake of her head or a squeeze to our hand, but we couldn't be certain.
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