6-26-2021 The day that changed everything
(Tricia's Perspective) Thursday, June 24: On the morning of Thursday, June 24, we couldn't reach our sister Linda, who lives in southern Missouri, about four hours away from where we live in St. Louis. This isn't the first time this has happened--we had told Linda many times that she absolutely had to answer her phone or respond to us via email within a 24-hour period, or else we would worry. That morning, it had been a day or longer since we had heard from her, so Marilyn called, but couldn't reach her. When she called again, Linda answered, saying that she was laying on the floor. Marilyn immediately told her that we need to call 911, but Linda was adamant that we not do that. The door was locked, she said, and she didn't want the EMTs to break down the door. Marilyn called me to let me know what was happening. At that point, I called Linda, who was still on the floor. Her speech was tired, but clear. She told me that she had been on the floor for