Is It a Conversation When Only One Person Speaks?
My mother turned 100 on September 2nd, and that brought with it a mix of emotions. Mom almost died before I was born. She was saved when her doctor presented her case at a Cleveland Clinic conference and took the advice of a physician who had treated a similar condition. Removing her spleen was the cure. Her abdomen bore the scars of multiple surgeries performed over the years, and I grew up questioning if she would die young. The answer is pretty clear on that one. What’s more, she’s the last one standing (or sitting, more to the point) among her siblings and their spouses. And she’s still physically healthy!
Ours has not been an easy relationship. Communication has often been fractured, and now we have moved into a time in which she no longer speaks. She occasionally nods her head to indicate yes or makes a sound to indicate no, but mostly she is silent, often with her eyes clenched shut.Just ten years ago, she was happily enjoying her life, loving the apartment she moved to, power walking her beloved dog. She loved playing poker and was an active participant in the poker group she founded. She also loved playing slot machines and was a frequent visitor to her local casino.
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