Joanie spent a wonderful 10 days down in Southern California visiting with her sister and mother. She was also able to see a number of close "old" friends. She had ridden the train/bus down there and returned yesterday afternoon to Modesto, our closest train stop which is about 1 1/2 hours from the house. I was 3-4 minutes late getting there yesterday. The train was still in the station but I couldn't find Joanie anywhere. Her suitcase was in the station but she wasn't. I had a good idea she was on the train because I'd talked to her 30 minutes earlier. Finally the station master received word that someone had fallen and pointed to the open door. I knew that it had to be Joanie. I ran over to the train and climbed aboard to a scene from CSI. Joanie was lying at the bottom of the stairs in a pool of blood but conscious! The conductor was on his cell phone just calling for an ambulance. (As I sit here typing, I can't help but cry as I recall the scene.) What I know is that she fell down the stairs in the train car. Each car is a double decker with fairly steep stairs going between the two levels. What I believe happened is that she was riding on the top for the better view and went down stairs to use the bathroom prior to her arrival in Modesto. I think she was returning upstairs as the train slowed and stopped. An eye witness says he thinks she was going up the stairs. I think she lost her balance, fell forward and hit her nose and head (hence the copious amount of blood) and then fell back down 6-8 steps to the floor.

The EMT's put a collar on her and placed her on a backboard before loading her unto the stretcher. She was taken to Memorial Medical Center in Modesto, about 3-4 miles away. They treated her very well in ER and she was seen immediately. After X-Rays & CT scans I was told by a neurosurgeon she had a hematoma in her brain between the the two hemispheres. He expects it to dissolve and that she won't need surgery. They took her off Coumadin and gave her two units of plasma to thicken her blood. There is a risk there, but no other option to get the bleed to stop. I had been told she had broken bones in her shoulder, but the neurosurgeon saw no breaks, only some spurs. She also has some broken bones in her left shoulder, the one that has been painful since her stroke. That has been the only pain she has complained of so far. They also did a CT of her face and discovered that she has broken bones in her nose. She was in ER from 5:30 till 1:00 AM before being admitted to ICU. The night nurse says that she talked much of the night about her adventures in Southern Calif. but has no memory of her fall.

Today she will be seen by an ENT for her nose and face and by an ortho for her shoulder and perhaps neck. I came home last night, arriving about 1:00 AM. When I called, they were just taking her to the room.