It Never Rains but It Pours - Update 6-15-08

Last night I got this email from Ed, husband of my very dear old friend Martha:

Quick summary:
Tu morning, June 3, at about 5AM, Martha got up to go to the bathroom. Immediately outside the bedroom door is the stairway down to the right. The bathroom door is on the left about a yard farther. I'm quite a light sleeper so I heard her get up and fall the full flight of stairs.
She was in ER by 6. She had some bleeding between skull and brain, an A-C separation of the right shoulder, maybe some cracks in small bones in her left hand, and a handful of bruises on the right side. The A-C is the connection between the collarbone and the tip of the shoulder blade, a tendon connection.
She was released on Mo. Wed afternoon she had a stroke (looking back), couldn't hear and was very incoherent. We had just inspected a white pine we had planted behind the garage and had planned dinner.
Status as of today: Martha had a number of small strokes, probably since Mo in the back of her skull affecting the speech center. She shows no signs of seizure; but does show some signs of bloodvessel inflammation inside the brain which causes speech slur.
Tomorrow: heart scan and spinal tap.

Thankfully, Martha is one tough chica with a huge appetite for life. Get better, Martha!! Dear reader, if you are the praying kind, please keep Martha in your thoughts. Ed, too. That must have been one horrible sound--hearing your best beloved fall down a whole flight of stairs.

UPDATE Sunday, June 15....Ed says Martha's speech is a "lot better," though she still gets a bit confused at times. She's talking about all the cooking she's going to do, planning meals, etc. Fingers crossed. Keep praying.....m.e.