Thursday, December 27, 2007

Another day, another accident

We have been accident free for a little over then one month. It has been a blissful month free of trips to the ER, no 9-1-1 calls since November, and no emergency doctor visits either. It has been a good month.

This morning I exited the bath, wrapped in a skimpy towel, and entered my parent's guest room to dress myself for the day. Lola skipped through the door and claimed she was a baby. "Call me baby Lola, Mama." I played along and placed her in Fifi's crib and managed to moisturize one of my legs with the new fancy lotion I received on Christmas.

Lola stood up in Fifi's crib and the crib on wheels, probably Made in China, rolled away from the wall and Lola fell backwards onto her head.

I ran to her, just a few feet away, and swept her into my arms. "BREATH. BREATH. LOLA take a breath!!!!" I screamed, very aware of what has happened to her in the past. Lola has holding breath syndrome and although it is not life threatening it is very scary for the parent holding a lifeless child.

Lola is stiff in my arms. Not breathing. She bends her head back. I only see the whites of her eyes. She starts to tremble. "BREATH. BREATH. BREATH." I yell at her gently pushing aside her blond locks and staring into the whites of her eyes. "BREEEEEAAAAATHHHHH!!" I am running down the stairs trying to find my mother. I am trying to get her to breath. She is shaking and so stiff. She feels like a log. I am holding my lifeless daughter in my arms. I think about calling 9-1-1, but wait. "BRRRRRREEEEATHHHHHHHHHHH. Lola. Come on. Breath!" I lay her on my mother's bed and shake her head a little and she begins to cry.

I am with Lola for an hour. I observe her. She is pale. She denies a lollipop. She is tired. She denies PEZ candy. She is pale. She vomits. "Mom, I am going to the ER." I look at my Mom and she nods and gathers up the other two kids.

Lola and I drive to the ER and Lola drifts in and out of sleep. I try to keep her up. I pray to God for him to take my arm, or leg, or my life just to keep her safe. I think about her bleeding internally. "Stay awake, Lola. My sweet Lola... stay awake... let's go to Target and buy a Barbie movie." I think about her being ill forever. I think about... everything and try to do anything to keep her awake. "Stay awake.... I will buy you some more candy."

We arrive. The nurse checks her over initially in the waiting room. Her vitals are fine. They give us room number 4 and we make ourselves comfortable. They let her sleep a little, administer some other tests, she sleeps some more, and they send in more tests. We are sent down to the basement of the hospital for a scan. I am holding her hand as we make our way through the catacombs of the basement and she says, "When we are done, you remember, you said you will buy me a Barbie movie." I exhaled a little, that was my first sign from above that she would be okay.

After hours of waiting. Hours of tests. Hours of wondering if my life will ever be the same. The results from the scan come back to show she is fine and suffered a mild concussion. Lola received an orange Popsicle. They schooled me on what symptoms I should look for today and the diet she should follow for the next 24 hours.

We were allowed to leave and I drove to the nearest Target. We entered. She vomited the orange Popsicle. We came home with some Tylenol, pretzels, a new Barbie movie, and some very dirty clothes. She vomited some more.

Tonight I will be praying for the same things: a happy and healthy family. However, I think I will add an addendum tonight... and ask God for a life full of uneventful days. I hope he gets our memo tonight.

Uneventful days are good days.

25classy comments:

suchsimplepleasures said...

yikes...that is so scary!!! a friend of mine, when her now 12 year old son, was a baby...he used to hold his breath and pass out! i witnessed it, once...i hope to never see that happen to another child, as long as i live!!!
i'm glad she is doing fine. and...may you have no more trips to the er...permanently!!!

Irene said...

HO - LEE - COW! That was scary to even read, let alone live. I am so glad things are OK. Isn't it scary how you realize that your life can completely change in one split second?

Yeah, buy her a Barbie movie, or two, or three or more...

Hope your new year is happy and completely uneventful.

Anonymous said...

How scary! I've had a few scares like that and know it is the absolute worst feeling in the world. I'm so glad she is going to be ok!

My little sister used to pass out like that and now I am finally starting to understand why it freaked my mom out so bad.

AutoSysGene said...

Yikes, I can just feel how scared you were as I was reading this. I'm glad in the end it was 'just' a concussion and not something much worse, though a concussion is NOT fun.

I've been to the ER twice in the past month or so with my little one and I know what you mean about having a little peace and quiet.

I hope Lola continues to feel better and you get some rest, too.

Don Mills Diva said...

Oh my God - sorry you had such a scary day - that picture is heartbreaking! You are right - uneventful days are good days!

Unknown said...

God, so scary!! I was holding my breath through that beginning part! SO GLAD she's doing better, but so so scary!

Ironically enough, we spent yesterday morning in the ER, as well. We thought our daughter had had a seizure in the middle of the night!

These kids...they keep you on your toes!! Again, SO SO SO GLAD everything is ok! And I had to chuckle at the We went to Target, she vomited the orange popsicle line!! :)

Amy said...

Oh my gosh!! How scary! You are just having a trip to remember! And that picture just about breaks my heart. I think you need a massage or some wine, or both :)
Hope that little cutie feels better soon!

Tootsie Farklepants said...

I hope she's feeling better now. That is SO scary!

Cecily R said...

I fast forwarded to the end to make sure everything was alright before I went back and read the middle. You made me that nervous!

I'm glad she remembered she was getting a Barbie movie. I'm glad she had an orange popsicle. I'm glad everything is okay and will echo your prayers for uneventful days. Give Lola an extra squeeze from all of us.

Stephanie said...

Wow! Hope she's better soon! You had to be terrified. I'm thinking about you guys! Try to have an "uneventful" new year!

Meg said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ConverseMomma said...

Oh sweetie, I read your post with tears in my eyes, silently praying that the brave, fierce, firey lola that I have come to admire would be okay. I am so glad that she is. I'm sending you both big (((HUGS)))
and lots of love.

Jo Ashline said...

I read and never comment and that is just so rude. You are a writing diva and have inspired me to pursue my passion for pen and paper. I also need to thank you for letting me guest blog in November, and for supporting our Autism Walk. I hope that Lola is doing better today.....children are the reason xanax was invented....

kocham

Monica said...

I'm so sorry for poor lola. you're in my prayers... ER visits are so yucky.

Caroline C. Bingham said...

oh my gosh. I am so with you on boring, uneventful days. Let's have lots of those this year.

Rachel said...

Oh my gosh. Poor mommy and poor Lola.
That scared me just reading it.
Wow.
I hope she's all better and that 2008 is an uneventful year for y'all!

Crystal D said...

Oh my! How is she now? I hope she has taken it like a typical child and has moved on like nothing happened. Too bad we moms can't take that approach. I am sure you have replayed it a thousand times in your head. Ugh.
Post an update soon.

TheOneTrueSue said...

Oh my gosh, how terrifying for you! My heart was in my throat the whole time. Poor baby - and poor mommy. And what a sad, sad little picture. I'm SO glad she is o.k.

the dragonfly said...

Aww, poor Lola. And poor Mommy! Hope you're both doing better today. :)

Unknown said...

Holy cow, that little Lola sure keeps you on your toes!!

Major ((HUGS))

Will send accident-free 2008 vibes to you and your fam.

Casey's trio said...

Falls are the worst. We have had several scares but have never had to go to the ER. Hope she's feeling better.

Maria said...

Wow, you just made my eyes water with two of your posts in a row, this one and the one about your mother! Your little Lola looked like a little angel laying there. Hope she is doing better now.

Anonymous said...

What a poor little muffin! That is horrible! Glad to hear she is doing better...it sounds like Mom took GREAT care of her. :-)

Anonymous said...

First time to your blog and I am in tears reading this post. My sweet boy just feel off the bed and hit his head about a month ago (also a trip to the ER).. your post made it feel like it was happening again.

I am happy to see she is okay.. Happy New Year.. (your newest fan)

Rhea said...

I have been to the ER too many times with family members and my kids and myself. Thankfully, no one has had a concussion though. (knock on wood) That's scary. I'm glad she was ok.

 

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