Nurse Cheryl from Woodland Terrace just called me. (At first I thought it was Rosa Rivera because their voices sound very similar.) She said that she had my mom “close by” and wanted to know if I had time to talk to her.
I said, “Yes! Of course I do!”
Nurse Cheryl said she would get her and asked me to hold on. After almost a minute, Cheryl said, “Okay, here she is,” and then I heard the familiar sound of my mother gasping for breath for a full eight minutes.
I spent almost the entire time saying things like, “Try to take a breath, mom,” and, “It’s okay, mom. Just try to relax.” I could also hear Nurse Cheryl repeating, “It’s your son, David,” and, “Say, ‘Hello,’ to him, Kathie.”.
I said, “It’s okay, mom. You don’t have to say anything. I know you can hear me. Just try to take some deep breaths so I can tell you understand.” But I couldn’t ever really tell if she did that.
Eventually Nurse Cheryl came on the line and told me they had to take mom down to dinner. She asked me if I could hear mom whispering, “David,” over and over, and I told her that I could not, and that I had no idea she was saying anything the whole time. Nurse Cheryl said she wasn’t sure, but that’s what she thought she was saying.
She said that she’d try to call me before dinner each night from now on so at least she could hear my voice. I thanked her very much and told her I would really appreciate that.