The Clouds Will Catch Me

<p><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>As a middle aged single black woman Karen Todd is content with living life simply. She goes to work keeps in touch with her family and loves her God. But one day on her day off she wakes up and finds that she is having trouble moving her left hand. Thinking she needs to sleep it off she takes a nap. When she wakes back up she fixes a bowl of oatmeal and the bowl slips right out of her hand.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>Not knowing what else to do she calls the nursing hotline and they advise her that she needs to go to the emergency room right away; she could be having a stroke. Karen immediately gets in her car and drives to the hospital. While there she loses feeling on her left side and is admitted for further testing. Results determine that she suffered from an old stroke. With the cause determined she is released to a nursing home to be rehabilitated through occupational and physical therapy.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>She is only there for three days before she loses consciousness and dies. Neither of her two daughters are notified until the next morning.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>What happened to Karen Todd? Although the cause remains unknown in this brief retelling of a small piece of Karen's life through the eyes of her oldest daughter Cori you will travel alongside her as Karen lives her final days.</span></p><p><br></p><p><strong style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>A Note From Cori</strong></p><p><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>If you've lost a loved one while they were in the care of a hospital or nursing home this story may trigger painful memories or thoughts. If you find that you are unable to continue reading </span><em style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>The Clouds Will Catch Me</em><span style=color: rgba(0 0 0 1)> at any point please put the book down. Believe me there were many times while writing this that I had to put the book down. Therapy has helped but there are still days when I figuratively put down my book and that's okay.</span></p>