Staring Death in the Face

Last night my 70 year old mother-in-law died.  Or so I thought.  My wife was in the kitchen talking with her mother.  Suddenly my wife started screaming my name.  I mean screaming like I've never heard before.  I was in the middle of changing our about to be 2 year old son's poopy diaper.  I ran into the kitchen before finishing the job.  There was my mother-in-law, slumped over at the kitchen table, ashen and not breathing.  I called 911 and was put on hold for what seemed like an hour when in fact it was probably mere seconds.  Help came on the line and told me an ambulance was on the way.  The woman on the line was so calm.  And I was not.  Time was of the essence and the ambulance was nowhere to be heard.  I was told to administer CPR, something I had never done.  I only knew about it from stories I've read.  The 911 woman talked me through it.  I worked at it furiously, talking to and listening to 911 while doing so.  My mother-in-law's eyes were open yet vacant and she sure looked dead.  Suddenly her chest and her belly started moving again and choking sounds came out of her mouth.  911 told me she was revived and to turn her on her side.  My wife held her mother in place while talking to her non-stop.  I ran outside and flagged down the firetruck and ambulance that I finally heard coming.  6 or 7 EMT's came into the kitchen and calmly got to work.  After about 5 minutes they took my mother-in-law to a nearby hospital.  My wife followed the ambulance with her father to the hospital.  I looked in the mirror and I was ashen, and shaking, and crying a bit.  Death can happen so suddenly.  Today my mother-in-law is alive and conscious and aware in the local ICU.