That is what family is for

What a week. My life has been a little like a hurricane this week to say the least. Let me start at the beginning.

Last week my mom called to let me know that my uncle, her brother, had been feeling ill and went the doctor. He nearly passed out upon leaving the MD office and was sent to the hospital for some tests. They found that he was "eat up" with cancer to the point there was nothing that the medical profession could do for him. So they sent him home with hospice and gave him 3 weeks to 3 months to live. He passed away yesterday afternoon in his home with his family.  Mom and I were praying that "if this cup could not pass from him" that it would at least be a painless and peaceful passing.  It was.

My mother who lives in New Mexico desperately wanted to see her brother before he passed, got a plane ticket to come in next week.  When she heard he had taken a turn for the worse she changed her ticket to this past Wed. The first leg of her flight, that landed in Minn, was late and she had 15 min to get to her next flight. After running to a completely different concourse she arrived to see them closing the door to the pedway. She had missed her flight. In trying to re-route her to Louisville by another flight it began. My mom slowly forgot where she was and why she was there. This has happened before and she had all kinds of tests run but all were negative. My sister happened to call her just as it was happening and got my mom to give the phone to a lady so she could tell the women what was happening and to call for help.  She was taken to the nearest hospital and they did a CAT scan to rule out a stroke. It was neg, praise God. However, she still could not remember anything past waving goodbye to my dad in Colorado Springs. My sister and I would move heaven and Earth for this woman. She is my best friend. So we called my brother and left Louisville at 6 PM for Minn. The four of us, including my brothers finance, took turns driving there for the 11 hour duration of the trip. We arrived at 6:30 AM. By this time mom was beginning to remember why she was coming to KY and where she was. The doctor called it Transient Global Amnesia. It is a coping mechanism she has that kicks in when she is extremely stressed. Given the situation with her brother and missing her flight it was fertile ground for this thing to plant in. There is no residual effects except for the loss of memory. The doctor said her mind gets so stressed that it just stops recording so she cannot remember the stressful event.  We were so glad she was on the mend and could not wait to scoop her up and bring her home. We left the hospital at 11:30AM and got home at 12:30PM. It was an adventure and a great bonding experience for all of us. It was a crazy 30 hours but I could not have thought of a better person to expel them on.  She was worth every minute I drove through the storm in IN and traffic Sherrie drove in though Chicago.  I would do it all over again tomorrow if needed. She is that kind of person.  Now on a side note we were all stinking by the time we got home and using napkins as a temporary toothbrush just did not cut it.  But we're family and family loves, hopes, and endures though all kinds of stinks just like we did.

It was sad to know my mom did not get to see her brother before he passed but I just fell in my heart that God had a good reason why. She did speak to him by phone so there was some closure. He was a great uncle, quit the comedian at times. He will be missed by all.  See ya on the other side Uncle Frankie.