A Different Kind of Visit

Mom had been declining her meds a few days in a row, so was pretty comatose the last couple times I visited.  She wasn’t opening her eyes at all and hadn’t been talking with me.

During my most recent visit, I was sitting with her in this state, reading a sweet card to her that she’d just received from an old friend, not knowing if she was listening or what was going on inside her head.

When I finished, there was a void of silence.  Then all of a sudden she cleared her throat and said perfectly clearly, “Let’s get down to business here.  Are you aware that J. Lo is pregnant?”

“Mom!” I yelled, laughing hysterically with tears in my eyes.  “Are you faking this coma stuff?  And how are you keeping up with celebrities?”  (My mother’s not the tabloid type at all and used to really dislike that kind of stuff.  I had no idea she even knew who Jennifer Lopez was.  I assume the young caregivers might be keeping her up to date.)

Mom started laughing too, and then while she was alert, we had a little discussion about how she feels on the days she’s not so responsive.

“What’s it like in there?” I asked.

“It’s pretty much okay,” she answered.

I asked a few more questions to assure myself, and she basically said she feels peaceful and that it’s too much effort to open her eyes and talk sometimes.

That was a relief.

I thanked her for waiting until she had something really important to say to break out of her false coma, in a teasingly mocking voice.  She laughed and asked me to get the heck out of her room leave her in peace, still laughing, so I did.

I drove home with a smile on my face.  I never know what will happen with my unpredictable mother, but it’s definitely a good visit when we find something to laugh about and she’s not upset about me leaving.