[CaptainCrunch]

I just wanted to throw this out there.

Last Thursday I got the call that nobody wants to get, my mother had been rushed to the hospital. She was confused, She couldn't walk, it was a scarier then hell situation. Lets be frank, my parents are of the older variety so you expect these phone calls. But when they happen, you're never ready for them.

We found out that she had two subdural Hematoma's on her frontal lobe, one on each side of her head. It explained, the loss of strength, co-ordination, ability to walk, zero verbal skills and no memory.

the doctors decided to drill into her skull to relieve the pressure, but couldn't do it for several days due to her doctor prescribing asprin which actually made things worse.

So on Monday night they did the procedure (Who knew that you had to be awake while they drilled into your skull). Anyways, I went back yesterday and my poor mom was unhappy because they had shaved her head and she had two tubes in her skull and was hauling around what seemed like litre bags of stuff. But she was closer to being back to the feisty old woman that I knew and loved. She was able to walk by herself, albeit more like a shuffle. Her verbal skills were way better, she could actually use a knife and fork and cup. It was an amazing bounce back.

We also found out as her memories started coming back that last Tuesday while she was carrying laundry that she fell and banged her head against the wall very hard and blacked out, while my dad was out.

Anyways the point of this. Sometimes we gripe about medical professionals because all we hear is the one side with the unions and the job actions. But I talked with the doctors and the nurses who put in 16 hour days in a very tough and heartbreaking field which deals with strokes and brain damages and other things. They do it with a lot of positivity and a lot of humor and a lot of compassion.

I wanted to point out that the staff that works at unit 112 at Foothills hospital are the very best type of people, and the work that they do for people like my mother and the other patients goes so far above and beyond the call of duty that its actually inspiring.

To me as they prepare to send my mom home probably next week that they saved Christmas and you can't ask for more then that right?

Sometimes the best Christmas stories don't involve presents, or stories of Santa Clause or Reindeer or Grinches. They involved the simplest sentiment of all, Gratitude.