Eickhaus

an experiment in communication....for family and friends of our blog to "keep in touch" and provide pictures and information about the latest and greatest adventures of Eickhaus. Also see http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/person.aspx?tid=831833&pid=-2042210641&pg=0

Wednesday, June 08, 2011

20 years ago Mom went Home....



My life changed in some profound ways 20 years ago this very night. There are images burned in my brain that I can never erase.
For one thing, it was a Saturday night. The movie City Slickers had just opened a night or two before. My buddy Tim and I went to see it as part of our dudes night out. I also asked him to be one of my groomsmen in my upcoming wedding that night.

I was living at home with my parents at that point, trying to afford and survive student teaching, and subbing to make a little money on the side when I could. I was about to start a new summer job the following Monday. But a lot of things were about to change.

When I arrived home that night, about midnight, the house was all lit up. My parents never stayed up that lae, I thought, so something must be wrong. I imediately thought of my Dad, who had suffered a heart attack 10 years earlier, and my own heart started pounding.

Then I got inside to find furniture pushed up against the wall, towels, needle caps, papers and other trash on the living room floor, and thought my worst fears were realized. As I ran into the kitchen to look at the corner of the table, a place we often leave notes, I was shocked to see my Dad's writing there. "Meet me at St. Jo's" it said.

I quickly locked the house up and headed to the hospital, which was less than 2 miles away, knowing it had to be my mom, and not my dad that had had some sort of medical crisis. I was at the hospital, parked and inside in less than 10 minutes.

As soon as I mentioned my parents names to the nurse at the desk, it hit me. Things were bad. They wouldn't tell me anything, just asked me to come to a room in the back.

There, a doctor and a chaplain asked me some questions, and then explained that my mom was in a coma. "How did this happen?" I asked. "Where's my dad?" They didn't answer me right away, but made me sit there a few minutes longer, and told me someone would be by to take me to them. They told me my mother was being transfered form the ER to the ICU. Soon,a nun came and took me into another part of the hospital.

There, I found my father, sitting with a police officer, who had been having a conversation and taking notes. I rushed over, and asked what happened. My Dad choked back tears, and said, "it's bad, son, I'm so sorry."

He then explained what had happened. My mother went to take a bath, as usual for her on a Saturday night in those days. Because of her epilepsy, they ahd always ahd an agreement to be sure the bathroom door remained unlocked. Dad, as he had for years would stick his head in every so often and make sure she was okay, and she always was. Except this night, about 9:00, he stuck his head in and found her face down in the tub. She was bleeding from her head, where she apprently hit it on the spigit. I can't even imagine how he managed to lived with that image the next 16 years, but he was tough, a farmboy and a marine.

So he called 9-1-1, pulled her from the tub, and began CPR. He ended up with 11 firemen, paramedics and two policemen in our living room working to revive her. After several mintues, they were able to get her heart beating, and they scooped her into an ambulance and rushed her to the nearest ER, which was St. Jo's. There, doctors worked to stabalize her.

Soon after that, we were allowed to see her. She looked so different, so small, lying there. Her forehead had been stitched up, and she had many tubes and wires attached to her body. It was obvious she was struggling to survive. A doctor came in and told us the latest test results were grim. Minimal brain function, brain swelling, and she couldn't breath on her own.

My Dad had called my grandmother, and she came with my mom's brother a few mintues later. I then called my fiance, Lori, who joined us within 30 minutes. After a coupel of hours sitting at her bedside we all went home, and tried to get some sleep. Lori came home with me and stayed with us through al this. Of course, I couldn't get any sleep, and was up by 6 in the morning. I called the hospital at 6:30, and asked how she was doing. They siad she was stable, and I said we'd be in later that morning. 30 minutes later, after my Dad had gotten up (he hadn't slept much either, of course) they called back and told us her condition was worsening. We got ourselves put together and were back at the hospital within 20 minutes. Lori began making phones calls for us, bringing my grandmother and uncle Lee back to the hospital, and summoning mom's pastor, as well as ours. the doctors told us at 8:00 am that she was howing signs of shutting down. he blood would clot in the tubes, her heartbeat was becoming irregular. Did we want to try a heart machine they asked.

Well, we knew where mom was going to be, and looking at her, it was obvious she wasn't in that poor body anymore. We prayed about it and quickly decided that we couldn't even try to keep her from heaven. We told the doctors no more machines, and no more heroic measures. Shortly after 9 that Sunday morning, with her pastor, our pastor, and a nun from the hospital all with us at her beside, her heart stopped, and she stepped into heaven completely healed from her seizures, which had plagued her all her life.

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2 Comments:

Blogger Debora Hoffmann said...

Thank you for sharing that, Dave. I remember that time, and I know it must still be painful after so many years. But she has no more epilepsy, praise God, and she's with Him, and we'll see her again!

3:37 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

That was beautiful, Dave. I'm so sorry that she must be missed and so glad that we know where she is and will see her again. -Jen

9:52 PM  

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