Triclops.

I expected yesterday to be close to uneventful and the end to my long weekend of nonstop family bonding from the LB to SD, but it was far from it. I woke up to a call from my mom's co-worker explaining that they called for an ambulance because she was disoriented, numb/tingly, and vomiting. Her boss' description of symptoms fit that of a stroke. Because it ran in the family, leaving my grandma with right-sided weakness and my grandpa general weakness, I freaked out. I threw on anything I had, grabbed my purse, and called for my brother so we could dip.

I fought the tears so I could focus on gripping the steering wheel with my trembling hands while I told my bro to call a couple uncles. You see, a couple calls spread like wildfire through my family. Sometimes it's to spread the latest chismis (gossip) or to invite each other to a spontaneous dinner at the house, which can pass for a family reunion reason being that my mom's side of the fam are all in SD. But in times like these, it really comes in handy. In a span of 15-30 minutes, my brother and I had 4 uncles and 1 auntie (5 of my moms sibs) drop what they were doing and leave work to be by our side. It took an hour for me to get in the ER to see my mom and we both teared out of anxiety and worry. I knew everything would be alright once she told the RN, "Give my daughter the best learning experience. She's in nursing school" and started complaining about the rude paramedic who got mad for a little spilled vomit. She's the type of woman who doesn't take shit from anyone even before she had to raise my brother & I on her own for 14 years this August since my dad passed. So, you could understand... seeing her cry made me cry. Fortunately, it wasn't a stroke. Just a low level of potassium and was easily fixed by some supplements. Immediately after discharge, my uncles and bro welcomed us to some take-out chinese food, literally at a table outside of the ER and we chilled there for a good hour joking about how my mom needs to eat more bananas and avocados. And joking about how she should try sneaking a prescription for some medical mary-j so we could bust a 4/20 at the next fam party. All the while my mom was dressed in some jeans full of vomit and was sporting her medical ID bracelet and gown for a top bc we didn't bring a change of clothes for her.

So... the weird part? As we were sitting at that table in front of the hospital, something reminded my uncle of a dream he had about my dad two days ago. He explained that my dad was instructing him to tell my mom to have a check-up. Of course, after this revelation, we all joked, "Uhhhh... you're a little late with the msg haaamie." Ever since my dad lost his battle with cancer, my uncle has had dreams about him and has claimed to see him in the rear view mirror of his car every so often. Yet, he never felt an ounce of fear during one of these experiences. And it was just this uncle who we truly believe has a third eye. It may sound eerie to you, but strange as it may seem, it's comforting to believe my dad is watching over us.

I'm so very thankful that we're all safe.