I called my mom yesterday afternoon to let her know her dentist’s office had called me to say they’ve reopened and were scheduling new appointments. She is due for her regular checkup and cleaning. My mom had a stroke last year resulting in some aphasia (speech difficulty) so I went with her to the dentist a few months after the incident so her dentist knew to call me first.

As soon as she got on the video call I could tell something was wrong with her. Her voice was deep and heavy. Her face looked like she was tired and sick. With some strain, she told me her throat really hurt and showed me with one hand how the pain went all the way to the top of her eyes. She said it wasn’t a headache but some other kind of pain. She also showed me a lump behind her left ear. I told her it must be a swollen lymph node. She added that it really, really hurt for her to talk and even swallow and could only ingest soup and oatmeal all day.

It’s challenging to have a coherent conversation with my mom because of her aphasia. Say a sentence too long and you’ll have to start over. Use a word she doesn’t understand and you’re left coming up with alternative words to use, like you have a Thesaurus stored in your brain. At times there could be simple, common nouns that throw her off. Sometimes she gets it, other times she does not, and she’s not consistent. Most of the time I need to say a lot and have limited words to express the exact specifics so I have to repeat myself over and over, phrase by phrase, and even then it’s maddening because I’m not even sure if she really gets what I’m saying because she doesn’t respond appropriately. Like I’ll assume she gets it but she didn’t. Or I’ll ask again if she understood all that I said then she snaps at me, annoyed that I’m asking her again. And boy, can she get catty.

Struggling to talk with the pain and using the right words, I got that she started feeling bad on Saturday but thought it was just her allergies acting up in her throat. She said she even went to Trade Joe’s that morning. Sunday was worse and so she called her primary doctor the next day, Monday, but he was out of town so she got hold of an urgent care office and got an appointment for a doctor to come out to her apartment on Tuesday afternoon, the day I called her.

I called that office and was able to speak to the doctor coming out to see her and told him her symptoms and also about her aphasia, warning that it may be a bit difficult to understand her. I told him I’d be calling while he’s with her to help and know what’s going on with her.

I got on a video call with my mom later while the doctor was at her apartment and was able to talk to him directly and ask questions. Everything was fine with her. Lungs clear. Blood pressure great. No drainage in her nose and sinuses. Throat fine, just a little red. Ear canals clear, slightly swollen. The lump behind her ear was just a swollen lymph node, a natural reaction to whatever virus he says she has. He said he can’t say if it’s COVID (of course) and all we can do is wait and call in case her symptoms get worse. Otherwise, nothing. Just like any other virus.

I was worried on and off the rest of the evening until I woke up this morning and waited for the right time to call her to see how she’s doing. Called her at nine o’clock this morning and she sounded better. She said she feels much better so that was a huge relief. And then she goes, “Oh, I need to go to Walgreens to get more Tylenol and I can get those lozenges the doctor also recommended!” I yelled at her to stay home, that she could get other sick, AND also maybe get COVID for reals. She does not listen. I told her I already ordered her more Tylenol and lozenges from Amazon yesterday and getting delivered to her tomorrow.

There. Hope she stays home.