What if

Thursday, September 9th, my life changed forever.  My mom, at the age of 52, had a heart attack.  I was awoken at midnight to my cell phone ringing, it was my brother.  He was crying and begging me to get to Atlanta as fast as I could.  He said mom was in the ER and that he thought she had had a heart attack.  Two hours later, as my mom was entering surgery, my husband and I left our apartment in DC and drove to Atlanta.  I wanted to drive.  I needed to drive.  I needed to stay focused so that I didn't break down and lose it like my brother and sister.  Not that anything is wrong with that, in fact that is exactly what the situation was calling for.  But not me.  I am the oldest and I had to hold it together for them.  At least, that is what I kept (and keep) telling myself.  As I drove through the night I was forced to deal with a lot of what-ifs.  What if my mom dies during the procedure?  What if my mom suffered heart damage?  What if my brother and sister cannot understand the doctor when he is giving them information?  What if I need to stay in Atlanta for a long period of time?  What if...

We stopped in the middle of the night in North Carolina to sleep.  I slept about 1 1/2 hours and then I was wide awake and ready to drive.  We drove and drove and got to Atlanta around 2pm.  We went to my mom's house and then to the hospital.  My mom was in ICU and was the healthiest patient on the floor.  I stayed all afternoon until they kicked us out because visiting hours had ended.  Ben and I drove to the grocery store and got dinner for us and my siblings.  We sat around the table that night, not talking and barely eating.  But we were together and that's what we needed.

Saturday, my grandmother arrived and Ben picked her up.  She came straight to the hospital where I was with mom.  By this point, mom was feeling well enough to watch the Gamecocks stomp on Georgia.  Gramps spent the afternoon with mom and we stayed until the kicked us out.

All weekend we stayed at the hospital in shifts, taking turns sitting with my mom or watching her sleep.  I prayed alot and hoped that she was going to make it out of the hospital and make the lifestyle changes necessary.  My mom had one stint put in on Thursday night/Friday morning and a second stint on Monday, September 13th.  She was released from the hospital on Tuesday, September 14th and Ben and I drove back to DC while my grandmother agreed to stay and care for my mother for two weeks.  My mom is going back to work tomorrow.

Now.  Enough of that.

On our way back from Atlanta, I really needed to stop and see my best friend.  Stacy agreed to meet Ben and I at chick-fil-a and to bring my new favorite person.

Ben and Emmie.

Today we joined some friends to watch the Steelers game.

Laura, Allen, and Sam

Ben and I