Not My Mother's Mother

Chapter 1-The Hospital Visit

Estimated reading time: 15-20 minutes.

"Hey, where are you at?" I asked while on the phone with my twin sister, Karla.
"I'm still at the market picking up groceries" she said. "Mother told me to pick up a few things for dinner."
"Oh, ok" I sigh. "I'll just see you at mom's when you get there ok? I'm about 20 minutes away."
"Ok, Lana. See you there. Bye."

I'd just driven home from Texas to visit my family in Arkansas for thanksgiving. I hadn't seen them since last Christmas, so I was long due for a visit. I couldn't wait to get to my parents house to see them. Yes, I still get homesick even at the age of 32. Taking a nap is second on my to do list when I get there. We're talking 8-9 hours here with nothing but the open road and a Five Hour Energy, but hey, I'm used to it, so it's really nothing.

I pull up to my parents driveway around 5:30am, excited to finally see them after nearly a year. I don't see my dad's car, so I figure he's gone somewhere. "I guess I'll just surprise them separately then." They weren't expecting me to be home until noon. I walk up to the door and knock, but there's no answer. "I'm such an idiot. I have keys." I say to myself while I fumble in my purse looking for them. "Ah, there they are." I unlock the door and yell "mom I'm home" and at that moment I hear a thud come from the kitchen. "Mom, you okay?" while running her way and no answer. "Mom?" I finally get to the kitchen and see her laying on the floor, unconscious. Lifeless. "What the fuck. Mom? Are you OK?" I yell while trying to shake her awake. "Mom!?" Just then, my dad comes through the front door and asks "what's going on?" as he's making his way to the kitchen. "Dad, come quick!" I say as I start to look for my phone in my purse. When I find it, I'm shaking so much I could hardly type the numbers to 911, but I fortunately do.

"What the hell happened?" he asked.

"I don't know, I just got here and she was-Hello?" I say answering the phone. "Yeah please come to 123 S. King Drive. I don't know what happened, my mom is just unconscious. Please hurry."
"Ok ma'am. I'm sending help right away. Please stay calm."
"Toni" my dad said over and over again, through teary eyes trying to wake her up. He got down on both knees and rested her head on his lap.

"Hello, ma'am are you still there?" asked the operator I forgot I even had on the line.
"Yes."
"Ok, just stay on the line with me, ok? The ambulance will be there in about 5 minutes. How long has she been out?"
"I don't know, five minutes?"
"Ok, stay calm. Take deep breathes. Who is there with you?" she asks referring to my dad crying and calling my mother's name. "My dad"
"Tell him to calm down too as much as possible. Deep breathes. Deep, deep breathes." the operator says. Just then, I hear an ambulance. "They're here!" I say and frantically run to the door. I don't even know if I hung up the phone. I don't care.

I opened the door and 4 EMTs came rushing in with a gurney and I lead them to the kitchen. They start giving her oxygen and attempting to revive her. No luck. They put her onto the gurney and without hesitation, go out to the truck and load her up. We decide to meet them at the hospital. On the way there, I decide I should call my sister Karla and tell her what happened.
"Karla. Change of plans. Mom's in the hospital."
"What happened?" she asked. I could hear the shakiness of her voice.
"I don't know, she just fainted and we couldn't wake her up."
"Ok ok I'll be there as soon as possible."
"Ok"

A few moments later, we're at the hospital. We sign in and tell them how we're here to see my mom. The lady who was just rushed in by the EMTs.
The lady at the desk leads us to the room where she's at. We walk in and the doctor sits us down to talk to us.

"Hi, I'm Dr.Hines" she says. "We're not sure what happened, but we're running some tests on her."
"We had to revive her a couple of times, but she seems stable right now. She's in a coma and I don't know when she'll come out of it."
"Ok" my father responds. "Can you give us a few minutes alone with her?"
"I can. Do you want me to bring you something from the vending machine?"
"No thanks" we repeat in unison.