Friday, July 13, 2007

"Drive!" - My excuse for not blogging

So much for my daily blog. I mean, I had this idea. I've read that the thing that is ever-important with blogging is that you blog consistantly. So I thought, hey-I can do that. And being the slightly perfectionistic person that I am, I did blog every day. Did you notice? I knew you would. So anyway-What is it with life these days? Well, it got in the way (life that is) again. It started with spoiled milk and a trip to Safeway.

I was making hamburger helper (I know...I know). When I opened the milk, it was nasty. So I had to go to the store. About the same time, my son Brian* wanted to go to the park. My husband didn't want to let him go but it was on my way and his friends were already down there (they all have cell phones). So I dropped him off and went to the store.

On my way home, I waited for the light and glanced down Main street. An ambulance was sitting there in front of the park. My heart did a little flip-flop so I turned around and went by the ambulance slowly. People were walking by casually, kids on bikes etc... Perhaps the paramedics were just on a break. So I drove home. One house away from mine, I saw my husband getting into his truck. He saw me and ran to the car. "Drive!" He yelled. "It's Brian isn't it!" I said more than asked.

Brian had fallen in the park-on his head. We arrived at the hospital before he did but still had to fill out paperwork so it was a long, oh about 3 minutes before we were taken back to see him. He was strapped to a back-board, his head in a cushioned vice (I'm sure there's a more doctorly term but I don't know it). His legs were velcroed down and he had white guaze wrapped around and around his forhead. He had a large bloody road-rash burn on his cheek, a cut above his eye and splattered blood on both hands.

Only his eyes seemed like a part of his own familiar body...and they were filled with fear.

"Brian, it's going to be OK." I said calmly.

"Mom, I don't want to get stitches." He said and then started to cry.

"We don't know anything about that yet Brian. Just calm down and we'll find out more." I said.

He cried and began hyperventilating with fear, telling us he loved us and that he didn't want to die. I watched ER for years so I'm pretty educated in these things. And I knew that sometimes when things seem to be fine, the patient somehow just knows that they aren't. And that knowledge bumped around in the forefront of my mind.

His biggest fear was the stitches. We later found out that one person on the scene, a teenager, and then the paramedic in the ambulance told him he'd need stitches. But I knew that with all the childhood mishaps I'd been through with my kids, it was rarely as bad as it first seemed.

But then the doctor came in. She pulled back the bandage to reveal a gauge like I'd never seen before (except on ER). I stood back, looked at my husband and mouthed, "Oh My God!" Now I could see why the paramedic, and even the teenager were so sure that he'd need stitches. The cut was about three inches long but was spread probably an inch open. It looked impossibly deep, like pink raw hamburger meat. Yep, he needed stitches.

Thankfully, tests revealed no skull fracture, no broken wrist, no neck or back injury. But he did have a bad concussion and of course that gauge in his head. Well, long story short...he got several shots in his head, stitches to his forehead and weeks of not being able to do much of anything.

He's recovering now, got the stitches out yesterday. He's still not back to normal, dizzy at times and has forgotten very important things like what finger jello is. Other than that, we are very lucky or fortunate or whatever you want to call it. We have our Brian back home and know it could have been so much worse.

*Brian is not his real name.

So how's that for an excuse for not blogging. Beats "the dog ate my homework" right? You know when I started this blog I was worried about what I'd write about everyday. It was so nice of my boys to give me fresh material. But I'm putting my family on notice; no more blog material needed. I'll be happy to write about sunshine, rainbows and roses from now on.


Karen

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