Falling

My mom is currently suffering from vertigo. No one's quite sure why, yet. A couple of weeks ago, on my birthday, she was walking through the kitchen when suddenly the floor was vertical in front of her eyes and her foot automatically went up to meet it. She fell, hard, on the floor. Things seemed okay for a couple of days after that, but then one day last week when she was checking her email, she started getting dizzy and then she began having difficulty walking normally. The doctor ruled out some sort of heart condition or a stroke, which is a relief, but now it hurts for her to watch TV, use the computer, or...read. And, by extension, write, I think. I went to see her today, and she said that she pretty much just sits in the sunroom...sometimes she gets up and goes into the other room to take a nap. I tried to tell her that she could get books on tape, but she said she didn't want to have to listen and pay attention to that. She seemed really sad. My dad's not much good for making her feel better, I think; he's got too many of his own problems and this vertigo business is probably just stressing him out lots more. I want to be able to be at home with her more until she gets better, but things here are too crazy and I can't not work.

I wish there was more I could do for her. She was always the one doing stuff for us all the time, the one who could take care of herself the most. And now she can't even cross the room without having to keep a hand on the wall so she won't fall down.