Janet gets tired of explaining to people what “cavernous angioma” means. People come at her from nowhere, asking questions, breathing on her in narrow office hallways and at the grocery store, where she is aching from cold in the dairy section, just wanting a jug of milk. When she is in a hurry, she calls it a stroke. This is not a lie, exactly. Both conditions involve the brain, blood, damage, and doctors. Other times at church potlucks she says that Louise has a blood clot that’s getting bigger and has to be removed. People know what a blood clot is because the elderly get them all the time, especially in their legs. Occasionally someone will ask if Louise has had an aneurysm, which is just about impossible because those are typically deadly, but Janet will just say yes, an aneurysm, that’s right.
Other mothers complain about their in-laws. They show off pictures of their grandchildren. Janet cannot imagine when she will be able to do that.