It was Super bowl Sunday and not being much of a sports fan I planned to work, to go out and show my clients a property that they were interested in buying.  I decided to call my sister in Canada; I hadn’t spoken with her and the rest of the family up there in weeks.  I felt a little guilty for not keeping in touch. It was a crisp, clear day in the San Francisco Bay Area and it beat the cold winds and inches of snow in Toronto.  When I called Beverly, answered the phone with that warm greeting that was oh so familiar to me, “Hi Heather, she said”.  I loved hearing her voice, but this time I immediately knew something was terribly wrong.  “How are you Bev?”, I inquired with a concerned voice.  I am getting over this ear infection, I’ve had it for weeks, and it’s causing my speech to slur and its throwing my balance off. In an alarmed voice as calmly and directly that I could I said, “Bev, I think you’ve being stroked, I think you need to go to the hospital right away!” I was absolutely certain that there was more than an ear infection going on.  I had been in a class that was studying the Course in Miracles and had witnessed the teacher being stroked.  There were about 40 of us and we didn’t know what was happening at first-he went into a sort of Pig Latin with his speech. I had been on a spiritual journey and was working on, “going within”  with meditation and readings.  I hadn’t turned on my television for a year and stayed away from the news. My intution was as clear as the day. 

My sister didn’t want to listen to me she continued her conversation and said, “Real estate is getting very cheap in the United States and I’m thinking about moving down there for retirement.  I want a warm climate and a diverse place, no racist areas.”  I Mentioned parts of Florida, Arizona and even California, although she thought my state would be too expensive. We finally settled on Texas, Dallas or Austin.  My choice was for Austin, Texas.  We continued our conversation for a bit and all that I could think of in the back of my head is that my sister is not going to listen to me, so I got off the phone and got ready to meet my clients.  I tried to put it out of my head and I went into the office first.  By the time I got into the office I realized that I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t try harder to get my sister some help.  I was 5000 miles away and I tried to call my sister in New York and another brother in Toronto without success.  So I called back Bev and my brother Paul answered the phone. I said to Paul, “I think that Bev is being stroked and she needs to go to a hospital right away, please take her!” My brother shrugged it off and just conferred with my sister that she was going to be okay and that I shouldn’t panic.   So my next call in panic and distress was to my pretend mom Claire, in San Mateo, CA.  “Claire I need your help.  I know that you recently have had a few minor strokes yourself. I called my sister and she doesn’t sound right. Her speech is slurred and she says she is dragging her right foot and she is off balance-she is blaming it on an ear infection, however I know it is more than that.”  Claire said, “She has to go to the hospital right away; Heather, time is of the essence when it comes to strokes.”  “She is not going to listen to me”, I exclaimed, “Will you call her for me?”