Ma went to the doctor and found out she had high blood pressure. The doctor gave her medicine. She finished the bottle, and she felt good, so she never got any more. She just quit. She figured that what she took made her better, so she didn’t need any more.
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It was pa’s birthday, January 4, and the family came over. They fixed ma’s hair for her, since she couldn’t put the pins in. Dr. Kelly came. He knew right away that she’d had a stroke. He said, “Where’s her blood-pressure medicine?” I said, “Well, she finished the bottle and she never…” I didn’t know anything. See, now I know that you shouldn’t stop taking your blood-pressure medicine.
I called Dr. Kelly, and he and the priest arrived at the same time. Father said to the doctor, “You go, and I’ll wait.” The doctor said, “No, you go first.” So the priest went in for a few minutes, and when he left, Dr. Kelly went in and gave her a shot of something, which put her out for a couple of days. He said that the fright of not being able to talk was terrible for her.
When we went looking for houses we’d take her with us. She liked to get out. One day we went to Marie Shea’s, and she had a stroke there. Marie and I rode with her to Loretto Hospital. I thought she was dead when they took her out of the ambulance. Marie thought so too. I knew it was going to happen someday.
