Drama

Sunday evening was an eventful one. All of the kids were out back playing on the playset and Ham fell off of the top platform right on to his head. I was standing in the kitchen with Spencer and Christina and Spencer saw it happen. We all ran out there right away. I could tell that his head had been hit hard. I was terrified. He didn't lose conciousness but there was a huge goose egg above his left eye within 5 seconds of the fall. He also had a scrape on his crown and I couldn't tell how bad the injury really was. I thought he had broken his skull or bruised his brain or something. I scooped him up and ran into the garage to strap him into the van and rush him to the ER. I was thinking I could get him to medical help before they could get out to us. John came downstairs and told me to stay put and call 911. John put him on the cround and immobilized his head and neck while I talked to 911. John is so much better in an emergency than I am. Abe was not showing any signs of serious head trauma or concussion but I was still scared. Really scared. John gave him a blessing while we were waiting for the paramedics and the blessing said that he would be totally fine and that the whole incident would be nothing more than a bad memory. I was comforted.

The paramedics arrived and did their thing. They strapped him to a board and wrapped him in a stiff thing so that he couldn't move at all. by that time he had totally stopped crying and was just interested in all of the straps and machines.

We took a ride to Gilbert Emergency Hospital. John drove down in his car and I rode in the ambulance with Ham. The Ambulance driver seriously drove about 5 miles under the speed limit the entire way. Like to the point that he was causing a traffic jam behind us. At this point I knew that everything was going to be okay and that all of this was precautionary but I wanted to yank the dude out of the driver's seat and floor it to the hospital.

Eventually we got there. Abe's good mood didn't last long. He got sick of being immobilized on his back and he was hungry and tired and thirsty. They wanted to CAT scan his spine and head before they would let him get out of the restraint. It took half an hour before they could get him in for the scan. They had told me that once they got the pictures they needed they would let him out of the thing. He was crying so hard. They had me put on a metal apron and hold his arms and chin while they did the scan to try to get him to hold perfectly still. Even though he couldn't move because of the device he was so upset that he was shaking and they couldn't get a clear scan. I was singing to him and holding his arms and chin and promising him that if he would just hold still for a minute then he could get out of this thing. When we were done they said that he couldn't get out yet until they had the results of the scan which would be another half hour. Ham totally understood what was going on and he was so mad not to be let out as I had promised him. He was over the edge emotionally. It was so hard to see him so upset and totally unable to move. I felt like crying too. Every minute felt like a year.

Finally they got the results and gave the all-clear to liberate him. He was soaked in sweat and tears and he was so happy to be held and to have a big cool drink. I have never been so relieved to hold a baby before. I couldn't snuggle him hard enough and I was so happy that he was fine and that his little noggin was only bruised. Ultimately he didn't need to be rushed to the hospital in an ambulance but when it comes to kids its always better to err on the side of caution.

Right before we left the hospital I looked up and saw Rob and Clark. Apparently Clark is sick and they brought him to the ER to get him help with his breathing. It was a family affair. Maybe we can get a group rate.

All day today I can't get enough of my Babyham. There's nothing like a good scare to make you appreciate what you have. I am so thankful for the health of my children. We are putting up netting on the playset today and I'm not letting Ham anywhere near the thing for a while. Clark is feeling better too.