SUNDAY MEMORIES
Judy Wills
I suppose most people can expect some ups-and-downs in their lifetime, and Fred and I have had our share…or so we thought.
Okay, so we’re in our 80’s now, and we can expect some health issues to occur. Knee replacement; cancer; cataract surgery; etc., etc., etc. But on March 13th of 2025, one of those unexpected issues exploded into our lives, and our future will never be the same. On that date, my husband suffered a stroke…actually they think he had about three strokes.
The day before was like any other day – lunch with my brother and sister-in-law…choir rehearsal that evening at church. Normal. The next morning, when we got up, Fred was limping…why are you limping? ‘My back hurts.’
He got into the shower, and wet the sponge…and kept massaging the sponge. He asked What’s next? I’m thinking…huh? So I told him that he didn’t need the sponge, so put it away and get the soap. He looked at me and said soap? That’s when I knew something was definitely wrong…I mean, this is a man who showers every single day!
After we dressed, I called 911 against Fred’s wishes (I’m okay…no you aren’t okay). The EMS as well as the fire truck arrived. They began questioning Fred. I guess because he could still talk coherently, and his vitals were okay, they didn’t think there was anything wrong that they could pinpoint.
Unfortunately, one of the paramedics, a female, came to me with arms akimbo and almost belligerently said, why did you call us? There’s no emergency here!! Her attitude rather set me back a bit. Also unfortunately, I neglected to mention that we had been married for 63 years and I KNEW something was wrong with him!!
They said they would take him to the hospital if I wanted…I didn’t know what to do…when this same paramedic said, Be sure to eat before you go…it will be hours before you get anything to eat. So that’s what we did. She obviously didn’t think there was anything wrong with him.
When we got to the hospital, Fred was able to walk into the ER…and then he couldn’t walk anymore. After examining him, the doctor asked why we had waited so long to come to the hospital? Hesitation on my part? Recommendation of the paramedic?
After a CT scan and MRI the next day (Fred was admitted), they discovered he had suffered at least two and possibly three strokes in the left side of his brain – which affected his entire right side. They said the strokes had just skimmed the speech area of the brain, and that’s why he was still able to speak as well as he did. Unfortunately, it has affected his memory, even to this day.
(Just as an aside…I wrote a letter to that particular Fire Station, explaining what had happened, and the result. I didn’t need or want a reply, but wanted them to know that there WAS an emergency after all, and that paramedic was out-of-line with her attitude.
Our youngest daughter was so upset by this that she sent a letter [emai] to the Orlando Fire Chief. That prompted a phone call to me, asking about details. He tried to reassure me that the mission of the fire department is to do the best for our citizens in all situations. I assured him that I realized that, but wanted them to perhaps use this as a training situation…taking nothing for granted.
I am grateful.
~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~
Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husban50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .
Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.
After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.
Old Things R New 
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