Yesterday was more of the same for both Cindy and Pauline. Cindy is still in the hospital being drained. Her Pulmonary doctor left on vacation for a week, making her very nervous not to have him around. .medication throughout the day.

A couple of days ago, I decided to go to my doctor to get a checkup – now that I had the time.  With all the stress in my life, I wanted to make sure that I was healthy, especially stress-wise. My grandmother had high blood pressure and my mother died from a stroke. I didn’t want to take any chances during this time. In fact, it was eight years ago today that I got a call from my neighbor, saying that the police had followed her home because she was driving erratically. I spoke to her for a few minutes, asking her how she was and what happened. She could only say that she was okay. I told her to go to the hospital – which she did, surprisingly.   That was the last time I had a real conversation with my mother. She slowly slipped away. Seventy days later she died.

A friend of my mother’s told me that my mother had been on high blood pressure medication, but stopped taking it because she didn’t like the way it made her feel. Six months earlier, I convinced my mother to put my father into a nursing home for his Alzheimer’s. Before that she had spent years taking care of my father by herself. My mother wasn’t sleeping or taking care of herself. She had no idea how to deal with stress.

I’ve learned how to take care of myself while everything around me is falling apart. It’s just when life gets intensely insane and the anxiety goes into overdrive that I want some insurance. The doctor prescribed Zestril. After one day of taking it, I’m still standing.