It's been a tough day, but it hasn't been all bad.
I finished a big project today. I've been working on it for months, and at last it is done. It was fraught with potholes, all of them seeming to come toward the very end. But with a little help from my saint of a coworker, everything worked out.
Then I went to a physical therapy evaluation for my sore as shit shoulder and got a regimen of exercises to do to stretch out the muscle and unkink the joint. That was good, especially the ice and electrical stimulation at the end.
Just as I was leaving the PT office, my cell phone rang.
Mom has had a setback. Her blood oxygen was low; she was weak and lethargic. At lunch she gagged up some dark, tarry stuff. Could I come out? I said I had to get back to work, but would come as soon as I could. My older sister was already there on her regular visit, so Mom was not alone. I got on the subway and headed back to work.
My phone rang again. Mom's blood pressure was dropping; her vital signs were weakening. She had signs of internal bleeding. I really should come.
Well, of course I did. I got off the train at the next stop and caught the next train heading the other way. I called a coworker and had her shut down and lock up my computer. I called my older sister and she picked me up at the metro station.
Well, of course I did. We all did.
And, as she has so many times, Mom felt better. She's still weak, to be sure, and still on oxygen, but her color improved while we were there, she talked a little bit, and she seemed to be breathing easy.
So once again, we gather and once again we scatter. My sister dropped me off at metro and I went to the Caps game. Joe joined me there later, and I was able to forget my tough day and cheer my boys to victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.
Thanks, guys, I needed that.
