Statecraft Informer

My mother-in-law had a massive stroke several weeks ago.

Through the years, and as more of them they go by, I become a bit more used to the aftermath of these traumatic events. From grandparents to parents, old friends to new, the effects I’ve witnessed have all run more or less parallel, depending on the severity, and number of “strokes.”

A stroke refers to a bleeding in the brain, or a blockage of normal blood flow to the brain. Either way, the result is a death of vital brain cells.

One or more of the following usually accompany the onset of a stroke (which may continue for a period of hours):

▪ Sudden weakness or numbness in your face, arm or leg on one side of your body
▪ Sudden dimness, blurring or loss of vision, particularly in one eye
▪ Loss of speech or trouble talking or understanding speech
▪ Sudden, severe headache — a bolt out of the blue — with no apparent cause
▪ Unexplained dizziness, unsteadiness or a sudden fall, especially if accompanied by any of the other symptoms

And strokes come with this caveat: Remember, the longer a stroke goes untreated, the greater the damage and potential disability. Success of treatment may depend on how soon you receive care.

The above list offers an historically accurate palette of stroke symptoms, unless you consider my mother-in-law.

Already long-troubled by diabetes, and a number of other chronic ills, she had, nevertheless, been quite able to take care of herself, her modest needs, and her three bedroom, one bath ranch house she has occupied alone since the death of her husband more than twenty-five years ago.

Oh, she moved a little more slowly, and never having learned to drive, welcomed an occasional (brief) outing and regular grocery delivery. As with most people, her memory had become a little less trustworthy, but not alarmingly so.

Referring back to the list above, she had been experiencing the fourth and fifth items on a somewhat regular basis for several years. My wife and I were naturally concerned, but the usual exploratory investigations of physicians could never pinpoint a cause for these events. In time, they became part of the fabric of her life.

We were not overly surprised, or concerned, when she phoned one day in October, and told me she was having a one of her headaches. This one was a doozy – even making it hard to focus – and she was looking forward to her upcoming doctor’s appointment, to see if he might adjust her medications.

When my wife discovered her mother had fallen the following day, she paid her a visit as soon as possible, and later on, expressed some concern about the after-effects. It was good the doctor was on tap the next day.

Without further belaboring the story, within approximately 48 hours, following a variety of hurriedly scheduled tests (whose results have since been conclusively confirmed), it turns out my mother-in-law had a somewhat less common sort of stroke.

Instead of immobilizing one or the other side of her body, or one or the other eye, her body, with the exception of both eyes (a kind of colorless, tunnel vision provides her new window on the world), her body was not compromised.

What is permanently affected, in fact, according to physicians, forever lost, is her ability to retain much of anything which has recently transpired.

She and I have since had a number of very clear and bright converstaions, some lasting up to two or three hours, and all of which recalled earlier times. Her memory of life from the thirties through late summer of this year remain as fresh as ever.

Of course, she cannot easily or at all, reach back into the converstaions we’ve recently had concerning the more distant past. For the most part, each recollection is a new recollection. As with any number of movies on the subject, each day is a kind of “Groundhog Day,” or “Deja Vu” experience.

She is a tough lady, and continues to cling to the independence which remains within her grasp.

We’ve been informed the section of brain affected by the stroke is permanently “off.” Her short-term memory will never return, or be effectively “re-trained.” This is just one more “thing she is learning to live with.”

Over these past weeks, I’ve spent considerable time thinking (and worrying) about my mother-in-law. In a peculiar way, I’ve come to see her new condition as a reflection of our nation’s current struggles.

Although we have a wealth of history from which to learn, we seem to be habitually making similar mistakes. No society of which I am aware has ever compiled as complete, and detailed an exploration of past events as has the U.S.

If you added all the lectures, TV and radio programs, books, movies, and general converstaions about historical events together, the result would no doubt be a never-ending stream of information with no visible conclusion. We do enjoy recollecting.

And yet the conclusions we seem to draw which guide our day-to-day world appear somehow disconnected from this vast storehouse of wisdom.

It seems to me that America has developed a kind of chronic short-term memory loss. We appear to actively engage in the pursuit of concepts, ideas and agendas today, forgetting they were already recently tried… and failed.

I would like to provide the leaders, the decision-makers in this country, with a great big legal pad; the kind my mother-in-law now uses to write down the time and date an action was taken, and noting the results.

Naturally, there’d be no fudging allowed. “Just the facts, and nothing but the facts” are to be noted. In that way, perhaps, a simple, written record would help guide us as we slip further into a future no more certain today than perhaps, it ever was.

Unlike my mother-in-law, America, as far as I know, can not only recall the past, but still apply its lessons every day. I don’t believe too much time has passed for us to heal much of the damage that has already been done.

If there seems to be some discrepancy regarding which lessons the past has actually taught us, I recommend checking the new, mandatory, government issue, legal pads, which should contain the recent results of out latest actions.

If those actions are not bringing about the desired results, then let’s consider them the wrong lessons learned, and move on. After a while, I’m sure we’ll hit on the appropraite course of action, and in the process, perhaps, rediscover the path which can lead to harmony.

Long term and short, that would be a memory we should never forget.