Until Larry is well enough to start either blogging or dictating posts to me, this is all from my perspective.
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January 23rd 2014 started out like any other day. Larry was up earlier than me (he always is!) and I came down and had coffee.
I had a doctors appt at 11:30 am, and the roads weren't great so I was leaving early. I left at 10:45 am, and Larry was fine.
I went to the doctor, who agreed to be Larry's family doctor (yay!), went and got his paperwork from his workplace and hit the dollar store and grocery store. I was pretty tired by then, and our son wasn't home yet, so I knew I had to bring in the bags. I grabbed the dollar store stuff first (this is a good thing).
I walked in the door, and the first thing I see is Larry's computer monitor on, but I can't see him. I figured he'd run upstairs to the bathroom...until I realized his chair wasn't where it was supposed to be.
Then, I saw Larry on the floor. The bags in my hand flew across the living room, as I ran to him. He was alive! Trying to talk to me, and I couldn't understand a word he was saying. I grabbed the phone and called 911. From what I remember, I was pretty coherent with the operator. She dispatched ambulances and firetrucks. I stayed by Larry, and realized that he'd had a stroke. How did I know this by just looking at him you ask? My mother was a nurse, and I knew what to look for. At first, I thought it was a heart attack, but the fact that he kept grabbing the arm he was laying on and it was flopping... I knew.
I heard the sirens, and went out of the front door to flag them down. It's quite difficult sometimes to find the separate units in here, and I knew time was of the essence. I couldn't flag them down, but the maintenance guy saw me and realized what was going on in an instant. He ran and flagged down the fire truck for me.
It was a flurry of activity after that, and I confess I don't really remember all of it. I remember talking with the paramedics, and them confirming that it was a stroke. I remember them sitting Larry up, and then somehow getting him out of our unit. The stretcher would not fit because it's very very small and cramped in here.... it was built in the 70's and if there's 450 sq ft for the whole living/dining/kitchen area I'd be surprised.
The next thing I remember is calling my brother in law, and it took me two tries to tell him what I needed. Looking back, I was pretty hysterical...but I think it was justified! While waiting for him, I brought in the groceries and basically threw the frozen stuff into the freezer, the fridge stuff into the fridge, and then off to the HSC we went.
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