Steve's Journey

At first it appeared that my mother was choking, but it was immediately obvious that she was convulsing. My dad and I got her to the floor and began CPR. He did mouth-to-mouth, while I alternately did chest compressions. After a few minutes he said that I should call 9-1-1. The emergency operator wanted me to give specific directions and stay on the line until the rescue unit arrived. I had always thought that with the 9-1-1 system your address came up on a map and they knew exactly where you were located. Not true. My folks lived in the country, and this was a volunteer group.

I didn't feel that I should stay on the phone and leave my dad to deal with the CPR, so I recommended that I drive one mile to the main highway to show them how to get into the home. I jumped into my Mitsubishi and floored it. A moment or so after I stopped the car, I heard the siren of the ambulance. I remember praying that the Lord's will be done. I didn't want my mother to suffer, yet I wasn't prepared to lose her.

The rescue unit followed me to the trailer, where they took over CPR. I assisted by squeezing the bag valve mask while they did chest compressions. Two times I stopped for them to shock her with the defibrillator pads. No success. They placed her in the ambulance and continued to administer CPR while we drove to the hospital, the ambulance in front, followed by my dad and me in my car, followed by a 2nd rescue unit.

On the way to the hospital we got bogged down in heavy traffic on I-40. We were behind two tractor-trailer trucks who were blocking both lanes with no apparent intention to move over, even while an ambulance with flashing lights and blaring sirens was right behind them. I remarked how it was amazing in our country how all traffic will pull over to let a dead person pass on the way to a cemetery, but they can't seem to make way for a live person to get needed help in an emergency. As we finally passed the trucks, my dad yelled a curse at them out his window. I had rarely heard my dad swear.

At the hospital they took my mom back, but directed us to a small room off of the emergency waiting room. It was nicely furnished and had a phone on a single table. I told my dad that we shouldn't go in there, because nobody got good news in those rooms. We went in anyway. Shortly after, the doctor came in and reported that my mother had died. They had opened her up and tried to restart her heart, but to no avail. He said the condition of her heart indicated that she had likely died within two minutes of the attack and that she did not suffer. He offered the hospital phone for us to make calls and said that the nurse would come to get us after they had cleaned my mother up.

My first call was to Lois. One of the girls answered, and I said, "Let me talk to your mom." When Lois came on, I choked out the news of my mothers death. Then I broke down, and the tears flowed like a waterfall.