my mom woke me up early yesterday morning. she sounded very calm on the phone. "your sister passed out and hit her head yesterday and she woke up today and can't get out of bed. she keeps passing out." my mom is amazingly in control and centered during crises. "can you drive down and take her to the emergency room?"

"absolutely," i replied. oh shit, i thought.

i called my mom from the road to ask her to get directions to the nearest hospital. she told me Amber's roommate was going to take her in and i should meet them there. it was a really long drive. what mom was describing, Amber wasn't doing well.

i got there and asked to see her. they told me she was with the doctor and they'd come and get me. i waited for about twenty minutes (it's agonizing not knowing how sick a loved one is) until they brought me in.

she was pale and didn't look very happy. they were giving her fluids and a little anti-nausea medicine through an IV, she was hooked up to heart and blood oxygen monitors, she was shaking a little. i comforted her a little, made her laugh. she was waiting to get a CAT scan (to see if the concussion had damaged her brain and caused any internal bleeding) and so i waited with her. she looked a little better with me there and that made me feel good. i called my mom a couple times to give her updates. she still sounded so calm.

the CAT scan and blood work both came back negative. that's good. negative is good. but her blood pressure was really low. 83/26. and she still was dizzy when she tried to stand. she really wanted to get out of there, though. she kept fiddling with the blood oxygen monitor and complaining about the IV and how bad she had to pee. finally, she was able to stand and have her blood pressure checked. 95/47. not great but better. they discharged her. six hours later.

we drove and got Carls Jr. hamburgers, some groceries, and a couple movies. she slept in the car a lot. i got her home, fed her and stuck in a movie. she ate, laughed a little, and fell asleep on the couch under the blankets. i spent the afternoon at her house, making sure she was okay and being there in case she wasn't. she woke up feeling better and looking a little better. her roommate came home and we did a hand-off. "lots of fluids, she can't go to work tomorrow and should really go to work for the rest of the week, let her sleep, call me if you need anything." her roommate is a star. i don't know what we would have done without her. she's very sweet.

i drove home and sat quietly next to Corinne on the couch. that was a Wednesday, yeah, that was a day.