A Massive Stroke Ruined Half My Mom’s Brain. A Year Later, She Wrote Me This Letter.

I’ve been dwelling on what I lost. But a three-sentence note showed me what I still have.

Photos courtesy Chloe Stillwell | Edited by Lilly Dancyger

It had been almost a year; the end of “this time last year” nostalgia was fast approaching. This time last year we went to dinner, argued about my dad, but managed to have a nice time. This time last year I was too distracted over a fight with my boyfriend to enjoy her company. This time last year she surprised me with wine and takeout, and we had the most magical evening talking, laughing, and drinking until midnight. Thinking back to specific dates on their anniversaries – the Super Bowl, our birthdays, two nights before Christmas – was a tick I picked up. It was a form of time travel. Of skipping back to a point in space when I still had my mom. But that was about to end as the anniversary of the phone call that ended making those kinds of memories loomed.

Since the stroke choked out 43 percent of my mother’s brain – leaving her wheel-chair bound, completely paralyzed on her left side, and with severe cognitive damage, most o…