Last time I spoke to her was Friday, right before she was being transported to the rehab facility. My aunt provided me mom's phone # and room #, and despite attempts on Sunday and Monday, there was no answer on mom's room phone. Today, I decided to call in the middle of the day, and I managed to get a hold of her.
She sounded more "with it" than on Thursday (the call wherein she conveyed she feels like my sister is holding her against her will) and my chat on Friday was so brief, I didn't get much of a handle on her mental state that day. But today she sounds more like herself, albeit a bit tired--and I thought for a hot second perhaps they had her on antidepressants.
She rehashed a bit of what she said in Thursday's conversation, and when she just barely touched on the notion of being held against her will, I asked her pointedly, "How much do you trust me?" She replied, "With my life. Just like you trusted me with yours." (I suspect she meant while I was still in her belly.)
I then blurted out, "Don't make me cry. But how much do you trust me? And even though you DO trust me, IF you didn't trust me, you trust your sister, right? Well, we both do not believe you are being held against your will. So get that thought out of your head. When that crazy voice starts talking, you tell that voice to STFU." My pep talk continued.
"And even though people aren't visiting or calling you every day, you have a LOT of people who are thinking of you, and hoping for the best. Your first job you need to do right now is sleep as much as you can. You can't rush a bone healing. Your SECOND job right now is to do the best you can and apply yourself when you go for your daily physical therapy. Your mindset is JUST as important." You need to keep yourself mentally strong." It was at this point she informed me that my brother told her the same thing.
One good thing to come out of this chat is that she has a social worker she spoke with either today or yesterday. And I told mom to make good use out of those chats, and to speak with the social worker every opportunity she has.
I think it was a good chat. Who knows which version of mom's personality I'll encounter when I talk to her tomorrow. But at least in this moment, she trusts me with her life, and my call served to remind her she's not alone.
I feel a bit weird tagging this with the DeathWatch 2017 tag, but the tag stays put. For now.
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