A Fantastic Day for Mom!!!!

After weeks of us seeing little progress, today was an incredible new day for my mom. My sister was at the hospital, as usual, and mom was awake and aware. The last few days had been a bit heartbreaking for sis, as mom has slept a lot and not necessarily been the nicest person when awake.

But today was a different story. Mom has started to remember. She carried on a full conversation. She said she has lost track of time and asked what day it was. She said she feels she had been stuck in a dark tunnel and that people would come visit her in that tunnel, showing her photos and asking her who the people in the photos were (as my sister and I have done often with her). She said she remembers being confused and not being able to recognize the people in the pictures.

My sister asked her if she knew who she (my sister) is. Mom told her she was the nurse. Then she showed photos of herself (my sister) and asked my mom who the person in the photo was. My mom answered, "That's my daughter."

"What is her name?"

"Her name is Sally." (right)

She then showed a photo of me and asked her who I was. She responded, "That's my son." That was the first time she has done that since falling ill. My sister asked her, "What is his name? Is it Joe?"

"No," she responded. "It's Giuseppe." (That's my name in Italian!)

She also recognized my father, who died when I was two, and her mother, who is also deceased, and others in the photos! At a certain point, my mom told my sister, "How did you come in possession of these photos?" My sister told her that she brought them from home. She then told my sister to please arrange to bring photos of others who are still alive because the only ones in the photos that are still alive are herself and her children!

At another point, she asked my sister to get a piece of paper and then recited from memory my sister's home and cell phone numbers and asked my sister to call my sister and ask her to come visit! My mom said that she can't believe that even though she's been in the hospital for weeks, that my sister hasn't come once to visit. Of course, my sister has been there every day and said so, adding that I had been there every day for the three weeks that I was there.

My mom made it clear to my sister that she was surprised to have come out of the tunnel she was in and that she is very anxious to get back on her feet and get back to a normal life.

I know, I know, this may all be temporary. Tomorrow she may relapse back to how she was. I hope not, of course, I hope she gets better and better! I hope to return very soon as finances permit and see her awake, recognizing me, smiling and kissing me once again.

Thank you for continued good thoughts and prayers!