Bumps, Bruises and Blessings

Today at lunch, my 3-year-old, Addison, stood up on a stool while eating at the kitchen counter. He lost his balance and hit head first on the hard-wood floor. He immediately got sleepy. He went to bed and we checked on him every 10-20 minutes to make sure he was responsive.

One hour later he woke up inconsolable. He was crying non-stop, but would not talk or respond to my questions. He couldn't seem to remember anything that had happened. After intense crying for about 15 minutes he threw up. I was trying to help him get from my bed to the bathroom and he became unconscious. I couldn't let him fall and so I carried him to my bathroom. I am not suppose to lift anything more than 10 pounds for 6 weeks. He weighs 35 pounds.

I called my pediatrician who said to take him to the ER immediately and not wait at all. I called my friend, Melinda, who immediately took my2-year-old (even though she was in charge of a teacher appreciation lunch at school). We tried to rouse Addison to go down the stairs and get in the car. He would not move. My mom has MS and tried as hard as she could to carry him down the stairs but could not. I knew that I could not lift him either. I hurried and called my neighbor, Kathleen, who came immediately. She ran up the stairs and carried Addison down and into the car.

We sped to the ER where Jesse met us. He was admitted right away and began vomiting. He was given Zofran which finally stopped the vomiting. He just slept and we kept trying to wake him up. They did a CT scan. There is no significant bleeding, but he does have a concussion. He has been sleeping all afternoon. We have to wake him every hour until 11:00 am tomorrow just to make sure he is responsive.

For those of you who know my son, he is not a sedate child. To see him so listless and drowsy is horrible.

Thanks to Melinda for taking Chase, Kathleen for getting Addison in the car, Jesse for administering a priesthood blessing and to our good friend, Dr J. who took care of him in the ER.

I can't imagine how Jesse must be feeling. If you have not read our experiences of the last few weeks, read some of the blog entries below. Jesse has been through an emotional roller coaster.

As horrible as my ER visit was last week, I kept wishing it was me in there today and not my son. I am grateful for the priesthood, modern medicine, and for prayer. Between my mom, Jesse, and me, we can take turns checking on Addison during the night.

I am trying to be strong and am feeling really unstrong right now. I am exhausted physically and emotionally. I hurt all over, and it hurts to cry. I am going to take a big fat Rx pain-killer and go to sleep.