On February 26, 2022, at 3 pm CST, I had just finished cleaning up my desk area. I would be flying down to Florida to spend a month helping my Mother heal the open wound on her right shin in four days. She has been dealing with this wound since August of 2021.

I called her twice a day to ensure she was okay. She seemed to be getting very worn down, and it had me worried enough to cancel my trip to see @Dreemsteem in March.

At 3:05 pm, I called to talk to my Mom. She did not answer her phone. It took her longer and longer to get to the phone, so I waited for her to call me back. Twenty minutes went by, and still no call from my Mom. I called her cell phone this time. Still no answer. I started to panic a tad.

At 4:00 pm, I received a phone call from Mom. She was in the hospital. She had broken her right leg. The same leg her open wound was on. She was in pain and waiting for surgery. I told her I would see if I could get a flight down to her the next day.

I did get a flight that left at 6:00 am the following day. I also got ahold of one of her neighbors to get the phone number of an airport taxi service. The company was steller and charged me a fair price for the last-minute booking. All I needed to do was pack a bag for at least a month, if not longer.

My Husband was great and did not even blink an eye when he realized what was happening. We talked about what time he would have to get up to take me to the airport. We decided we would need to leave the house at 3:30 am. It wasn't worth me sleeping that night. I had laundry still to get done, so I had Summer clothes to wear in sweltering Florida.

At 1:00 am, I was finally as packed as I would be. Hubby went to sleep for a few hours while I sat at my desk and tried to breathe and relax. I think I did okay on the breathing part.

A person would think they would sleep on the plane ride down to Florida but nope! It was not to be. The lady that picked me up at the airport was a chatty one. Talkative was fine by me as long as she didn't expect coherent answers. She kept wanting to drop me off at the hospital, but I had to keep reminding her the car to get back to my Mom's was at Mom's house. It was a weird dance of words that kept recurring over the following hours.

Once at my Mother's house, I saw the stool in the kitchen with the broken leg. I walked that stool out to the garbage and threw it away before doing anything else. Suitcase in my bedroom, I showered quickly to wake up and get any germs off me. Once changed, I made my way to the hospital to the sound of Mz. Google Map's voice.

Mom had had surgery on her leg while I was in the air. I walked into her room to see my tiny Mom again in a hospital bed. It is a sight I hate. She looks so tiny in those big beds. The good news was Mom was alive, and her leg had been set. She would heal and be able to walk with a lot of therapy to come.

Mom was in the hospital for nine days. The Rehab facility did not have any open beds until Monday, March 7, 2022. Finally, on March 7, a bed was available at the rehab center. On March 18, 2022, at 11:00 am, I sprung her from said Rehab Center. She has been home since.

These are the facts of the last month of my life.

These facts do not even begin to tell the tale of all my Mother, and I have lived through in the last twenty-nine days. Maybe someday I will be able to pass along some insight into those days but for now, know a day has not gone by where I have not cried.

I will leave you with what you, too, could look forward to if you climb on a stool at age 84, 8/12th.