The Monster Mash
By Meghan
The warm spring night smelled like barbeque and bonfires as the sun was setting. My friends, and neighbors, Tatiana and Tara, stood outside my front door. I welcomed them and we walked off to my room, leaving our mothers to talk in the hallway.
“Be good, girls!” I heard their mom shout, but we were too engrossed in our plan for the evening. Every Thursday their mother went bowling with a group of friends and every Thursday I'd go with them to the bowling alley. We never bowled, but instead played games and were just your typical eight year old girls running around and causing chaos. Actually, that's a lie. We were very well behaved, if a bit loud at times.
Anyway, this Thursday was different. I told the girls I wanted to stay home tonight. My mom was doing laundry and, as she was my best friend, I wanted to spend time with her. We concocted a plan to have them spend the night at my house and thankfully our mothers agreed.
The night started just as expected. We all grabbed a laundry basket and walked to the laundry room about two minutes away. On the way we stopped and got some cash, even pausing the pet the neighbors cat for a minute. Once we got the laundry started we headed back to the house for some snacks and play time. While mom created some yummy snacks for us I put in one of my favorite tapes. Yes, tapes, this was 1999 after all.
“Be good, girls!” I heard their mom shout, but we were too engrossed in our plan for the evening. Every Thursday their mother went bowling with a group of friends and every Thursday I'd go with them to the bowling alley. We never bowled, but instead played games and were just your typical eight year old girls running around and causing chaos. Actually, that's a lie. We were very well behaved, if a bit loud at times.
Anyway, this Thursday was different. I told the girls I wanted to stay home tonight. My mom was doing laundry and, as she was my best friend, I wanted to spend time with her. We concocted a plan to have them spend the night at my house and thankfully our mothers agreed.
The night started just as expected. We all grabbed a laundry basket and walked to the laundry room about two minutes away. On the way we stopped and got some cash, even pausing the pet the neighbors cat for a minute. Once we got the laundry started we headed back to the house for some snacks and play time. While mom created some yummy snacks for us I put in one of my favorite tapes. Yes, tapes, this was 1999 after all.
Mom's favorite songs came on and we all started dancing and singing. I remember it like it was yesterday. The song was “The Monster Mash”, by Bobby “Boris” Pickett. It's a silly song and we were all having a great time. As the song came to a close, mom stopped and bent over the pick up and move the laundry basket. As she bent down to put a hand to her head, wincing in pain.
I didn't even hesitate when she mentioned a headache, but instead walked straight to the kitchen for her headache medication. Since the year I was born mom had terrible migraines. Each time my Grandma (who by this point had passed away) and I'd do the same thing to tend to her – migraine pills, dark room, no sound, cold compress. I knew this instinctively at this age and within minutes had her laying back in the recliner with a cold compress on her forehead and the back of her neck. The lights were off and the only sound was coming from the barely audible TV that Tara was watching. Tatiana, being a year younger than her sister was following me around trying to help, but was unfortunately only getting in the way.
An hour passed, then two. Normally her medication didn't take more than forty-five minutes to kick in and at least decrease the pain, but this one seemed to be getting worse.
Another hour passed and suddenly mom lost her eye sight. I was terrified, but I didn't show it.
“Tati, stay here and watch mom. I need to go get someone.” She nodded and I walked outside. I knocked on all of my neighbors doors. Each one either wasn't home and told me the same story, “If your mom is sick, I don't want to catch it.”
I didn't even hesitate when she mentioned a headache, but instead walked straight to the kitchen for her headache medication. Since the year I was born mom had terrible migraines. Each time my Grandma (who by this point had passed away) and I'd do the same thing to tend to her – migraine pills, dark room, no sound, cold compress. I knew this instinctively at this age and within minutes had her laying back in the recliner with a cold compress on her forehead and the back of her neck. The lights were off and the only sound was coming from the barely audible TV that Tara was watching. Tatiana, being a year younger than her sister was following me around trying to help, but was unfortunately only getting in the way.
An hour passed, then two. Normally her medication didn't take more than forty-five minutes to kick in and at least decrease the pain, but this one seemed to be getting worse.
Another hour passed and suddenly mom lost her eye sight. I was terrified, but I didn't show it.
“Tati, stay here and watch mom. I need to go get someone.” She nodded and I walked outside. I knocked on all of my neighbors doors. Each one either wasn't home and told me the same story, “If your mom is sick, I don't want to catch it.”
Frustrated and scared I started back home when I ran into two of my other friends, Kylee and her younger brother Isaac. Kylee was two years older than Isaac and I and saw instantly that something was wrong. I explained and they took off, saying to “just hold on”. I was confused but I walked back to my house. Within ten minutes there was a knock at the door – it was Kylee, Isaac and their father.
The next forty-eight hours are a blur of faces, crying, and hospital rooms. I remember that Dave, their father, called the ambulance who came and rushed my mom off to the hospital. Just as she was leaving my uncle, who lived with us (and was out with friends) came home and took me with him to the hospital as Tatiana and Tara's mom came back home.
It turns out my mom had a massive brain aneurysm, which explained the lose of vision, severe headache and nausea that she experienced. A brain aneurysm is basically when the walls of a cerebral artery or vein balloons, and in moms case, ruptures. Mom's case was very unusual in many ways. The first was the placement of the brain aneurysm. It was in the front of her head, right under her forehead. The blood from the ruptured artery flowed directly backward (as she was laying back) and drained into her spinal cord. This, in most cases, would have killed her within an hour. But it didn't, she survived.
A few surgeries, a long stay in the hospital and needing to relearn to walk, talk, and live life again was to come. It's been a long thirteen years since that night and my mom is still alive and kicking. She still suffers from a stroke leg and some memory loss, but overall she is in good health. I, on the other hand, still cannot listen to “The Monster Mash” without reliving that night.
The next forty-eight hours are a blur of faces, crying, and hospital rooms. I remember that Dave, their father, called the ambulance who came and rushed my mom off to the hospital. Just as she was leaving my uncle, who lived with us (and was out with friends) came home and took me with him to the hospital as Tatiana and Tara's mom came back home.
It turns out my mom had a massive brain aneurysm, which explained the lose of vision, severe headache and nausea that she experienced. A brain aneurysm is basically when the walls of a cerebral artery or vein balloons, and in moms case, ruptures. Mom's case was very unusual in many ways. The first was the placement of the brain aneurysm. It was in the front of her head, right under her forehead. The blood from the ruptured artery flowed directly backward (as she was laying back) and drained into her spinal cord. This, in most cases, would have killed her within an hour. But it didn't, she survived.
A few surgeries, a long stay in the hospital and needing to relearn to walk, talk, and live life again was to come. It's been a long thirteen years since that night and my mom is still alive and kicking. She still suffers from a stroke leg and some memory loss, but overall she is in good health. I, on the other hand, still cannot listen to “The Monster Mash” without reliving that night.