I want to add one more post to this thread before I let it go.

Thank you, everyone, for your words and your kind and loving support. They have helped me more than I can tell you. I'm doing pretty well. The Mudcat is providing me with many opportunities to laugh and enjoy myself despite the events of the last week.

I think it would be fitting to use this thread to tell people something that is very important for women and their loved ones to know. Apparently, most people are unaware of this...

In women, pain in the lower back can be an indication of heart problems. My mother had been complaining of lower back pain for a week or two before her heart attack. While the heart attack was progressing, she was complaining of severe pain in her lower back.

No one thought to be concerned about her heart because the pain was in her lower back. She thought she had hurt her back lifting grandchildren. She had been having these symptoms for a couple of hours before my father realized she needed medical attention because at first, they progressed gradually. By the time he realized she needed medical help, her symptoms had begun to progress very rapidly.

If we had known about the lower back pain symptom, she might have recieved medical attention in time to save her life.

The most severe symptoms that she reported as long as she was able to talk, were lower back pain and difficulty breathing. This doesn't sound anything like what we usually think of when we hear the term "heart attack". Apparently, women experience heart attacks differently than men. I think this is important for everybody to know.

Love to all,

Carol