I woke up yesterday to a phone call from my dad around 5am. He sounded terrified and informed me that my mom had had a stroke and that an ambulance was on the way. I got ready quickly and met them at the hospital downtown.

At first I was not allowed to go back and see her, which was frustrating. By the time I was able to go back to where she was in the ER she was hardly responsive, and unable to move her left side. We would ask her questions and she seemed drugged and slow, completely unlike her normal personality. 

It was frightening to think she might end up paralyzed, or even worse – brain damaged and not be herself at all.

The doctor said he did not think it was a stroke, and it was hard to believe given how similar she looked to when she had her stroke 3 years ago.

The nurses and doctor performed tests including at cat scan and finally an MRI. Everything came back negative for a stroke, and over the many hours in the ER and hospital room she began to come back to normal. It was super painful for her when she was regaining feeling on her left arm and leg. She had the feeling of pins and needles in her left limbs and it travelled down to her fingertips before she could completely feel them again.

Apparently it was related to the stroke she had 3 years ago, but it was not another actual stroke which is a huge relief. It was caused by a lot of stress coupled with her already high blood pressure.

It was very frightening, and it goes to show what stress can do.
I am really glad it was not worse.

If you are like me my parents have always been there for me, worked extremely hard and sacrificed to make my life better and raise me the best they could. Go hug your parents or give them a phone call, they wont always be around, and I am extremely lucky to have more time with my mom after what happened yesterday.