Unicorn zits and Ohio in the dark
Riding 50 days into 2023
It’s been 50 days since I’ve written. It feels longer, but it was just a few days after New Year's when my mom texted me they were admitting her to the hospital. It was just before 4 p.m. on a Friday, I was setting up the new Keurig and about to head to the gym. Instead, an hour later, I was in my car heading for the Pennsylvania Turnpike and mentally calculating how long I could drive before I would need to pull over for some sleep.
It’s just over a 12-hour drive. I pulled off at a hotel just past Cleveland on the Ohio Turnpike, and I was back on the road by 5 a.m. after what amounted to about 4 hours of sleep. It didn’t turn light until I was just about at the Michigan border.
I spent the entirety of Ohio in the dark.
The night sky was starless. Information about my mom was sparse because there was little to share. She’d been sitting in the emergency department, waiting for a bed to open up.
Northern Michigan is very rural. The closest hospital for those who live in my parent’s area is an hour away. And it is busy. My hometown hospital closed at some point and for mainly emergencies only — they send those that are in need of additional care to Petoskey where my mom was waiting.
