18 June 2004
Father's Day 1994 was the worst day of my life. I was working over the weekend helping out at the Dairy Queen I had worked at during high school. My husband (then fiance) showed up at the store and said I was to phone home. When I called my step-sister answered the phone and asked to speak to Jim. Jim was then told to bring me home. My first thought was that something happed to my step-father (who was 14 yrs older than my mother and had a previous heart attack). They were married only 14 months before.
As we pulled up to the house, I saw a police car in the driveway. I ran inside only to see my step-sister, step-brother, aunt, and my step-father. In that instance I knew I had not only lost my mother but my best friend. My mother and I were very close.
The autopsy showed she died from a brain aneurysm. She was only 42. My sister and I now did not have any parents left (my father died 9 years eariler in an accident). I didn't even know what an aneurysm was at the time. I certainly do now.
My mother had always sufferred from migraines and probably thought this was what was happening to her that morning. I too suffer from a lot of headaches (including migraines) and decided I should see about them considering the family history. I don't want to leave my daughter without her mother if I can prevent it. I am now scheduled to see a neurologist.
Each year as Father's Day approaches, I find myself thinking about my parents a lot. It's been helpful to have found this website. To those who have survived, I hope you live a long and happly life. To those who have lost, I hope you find the strength to go on.
© Copyright 2004 Tammy Ball
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