Don't Bother Calling

While I may not always say it, I give my wife a lot of credit for dealing with her mother. She has given up countless hours, and even days of sleep, to take care of her mother’s needs. She has done what ever she can to take care of her and to make things easier on other members of my mother-in-law’s family. Sometimes, it is surprising to hear what others have to say.

I got a call from my wife yesterday morning that she had just received a call from the Rehab facility where her mom was. The facility noticed something was wrong and was thinking another stroke or a seizure. My wife, when it comes to the day-to-day operations, tries to not burden her brother (my mother-in-law’s son) with all the information because he has made it apparent, through word and deed, he does not want to be bothered. He obviously feels my wife can handle it and probably feels she goes overboard anyway.

Still, yesterday, we were talking about a situation that was serious enough to have her taken to the hospital. Yesterday, we were talking about a situation where a woman in assisted living, suffered a stroke two weeks ago and while trying to give her the necessary physical and occupational therapy, suffered what the trained staff at the Rehab Center feared might be another stroke. Of course she called her brother. Certainly, she should have.

I was surprised to hear my wife tell me that her brother said she should not bother calling back unless it was something serious. To the best of my knowledge, he did not ask to speak to his mother or call her after he was notified of the situation. He simply did not want to be bothered. I find this response both surprising and unfortunate.