I will start off with one of our biggest blessings is that Henry was again spared for what could have been tragic; he fell off a slide that is about 9-10 feet tall. (I don't know exactly how tall is, all I know is that it's a few feet taller than me and I'm 5'10.)
I have the feeling that Henry is our accident prone kid; every family has at least one. So far in his short two and half year life, he has drank wall paper stripper, fallen into a pool, and now fallen off of a slide.
I've always prided myself on the fact that not once in my 10 years as a mother have I ever brought my kids into an ER; except for when Lucy was a baby and she had RSV and that was only because we were advised to after talking to the triage nurse. But other than that, we only do Urgent Care visits and that's only when it's the last resort and/or we have something very urgent going on. And being the worry wort mom that I tend to be, I do feel proud about that! :-)
But when Henry fell off of that slide and I saw his little body fall through the air with that sickening thud when he landed, it was hard to brush it off as just a fall. He wasn't supposed to be going on that slide in the first place but he was halfway up before I could stop him so I had Lucy right behind him to catch him if he stumbled. Unfortunately, he fell through the railing and no one was expecting it. I was on the other side of the slide and couldn't catch him. When I got to him, he had an expression of pain/fear frozen in place with his eyes wide and mouth open. I snatched him up and he began to cry but not with the same gusto he normally does. I figured he had the wind knocked out of him so I walked around with him for a while as he tried to catch his breath. At this point, I began to cry because I never, never should have let him up on that slide in the first place. It was just too high with no sides to it, making it very dangerous and prone to falls. So while I was crying, the kids got scared and began to cry. Pretty soon, we were all crying. Thank goodness no else was around at the time.
We all sat in the car for about 15-20 minutes, waiting it out with Henry as he tried to catch his breath. He never did. He just laid against me, gasping for breath over and over. He wasn't even crying anymore; just laying limp, gasping, gasping, gasping.
Limp and lifeless is not like Henry at all. He has taken many falls and always bounces right back, so seeing him like this was disconcerting to me. After thinking it over and talking it over with Dennis on the phone (he was at work) I decided to bring him in to get checked over. I was worried about head injury.
Thank goodness for my friend Sunshine who happens to live in the same town that the closest hospital to us is in. Thank goodness too, that she was home. She normally isn't. Thank goodness that she answered her phone. She normally doesn't. In fact, that only way that we communicate is through texts or facebook. I prefer talking on the phone but she is busy with her new baby so she doesn't answer. So for this reason, I texted her first: "Please answer." As I figured she would, she texted back, "Answer what??" That was when I called her. Having got her attention, I asked her to come to the ER and sit with the kids in the waiting room so I could be with Henry. She came right away. Yes, thank goodness for God's careful planning! I knew the kids were in good hands with Sunshine (they love her) and she took them down to the cafeteria for hot chocolate and ice cream.
As for Henry, he continued to be lethargic, listless and sleepy which concerned me greatly. He would not respond to anyone; would not move his arms or legs. He didn't care that the nurses and doctor were all over him, putting him in a neck brace, taking off his shirt, putting on a hospital gown. He didn't care about the oximeter that they taped on his finger or the blood pressure cuff. He didn't even care that he had to go through the big scary machine to get his picture taken (a Cat Scan). This is not like Henry at all--he does not like strangers poking and pulling on him!
What cured him was a big chicken balloon that they gave him. This balloon was as big as he was. It was the first time I saw a glimmer of a smile from him and a few minutes later he began to talk to the chicken balloon, and then the nurses. I began to relax after that. The CT came back looking good and the doctor declared it to be a "head injury" but no concussion. Mostly just the wind knocked out of him and a bad a head ache.
He also had pebbles indents all over his back with abrasions. Overall, not bad for a 9 foot fall!
When Henry walked out of the ER, it was with a big smile and a huge chicken balloon. The kids instantly ran to him with cheers and hugs. It was one of those heart-warming moments when you're proud to be a mother of so many crazy kids.
I have more to tell about our house blessing but I will save that for another post!
AND, something special coming up!!
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