On December 15th one year ago, the girls & I were in the kitchen getting ready for Lacey's 5th birthday party. It was a Friday, & the girls had a 1/2 day of school, which signaled the start of Christmas break. Lacey's friends were all planning to come to her party later that afternoon. Madi, Katie, & Lacey were at the kitchen table making a poster of Rudolph for our "pin the nose on Rudolph" game. My back was turned & the next thing I knew, I heard a big splat, & Lacey was laying on the hard tile floor, barely moving. She had been up on the table (not sitting in a chair like a good little girl) & she somehow fell backward & hit her head hard! She didn't pass out, but was not exactly coherent either. I held her and hoped and prayed that she would "snap out of it" as her birthday party was just a few hours away. After about 15 minutes, I could tell that she was not herself & was not improving. She seemed to be in a bit of a daze & kept complaining that her head hurt & she didn't feel well. Madi, Katie, & I kept trying to talk to her, hoping she would respond in her normal Lacey style, but she would weakly answer our questions, and was not herself. She was pale & listless. It was scary! I asked her if she wanted to go to the hospital, and she told me she did, so I knew there was trouble. What normal, healthy kid wants to go to the hospital when her birthday party is just hours away? None that I can think of.
So - I loaded all the kids in the car & off we went to the ER. I was so upset inside, but trying to stay strong for my kids, who were frightened & worried about their sister. (I do not do well when my kids get hurt. I especially don't like hits to the head or choking sounds - they both send me into a bit of a panic!) The ER is not far from our home, so it didn't take us long to get there, which was comforting. Because Lacey was a child, they quickly processed her & got her into a bed. In December, the pediatric unit in the ER is pretty full. There are lots of germs & lots of sick kids. Because of this, the hospital would not allow my other kids to go back with Lacey & I. Katie & Madi quietly cried when they heard they had to sit alone in the ER waiting room, taking care of Baby Ben. The hospital asked me if there was someone I could call to come get the other children. Brad was at work & immediately headed over to the hospital, but he was quite a ways away. My parents were out of town, but fortunately, I called my neighbor who was home and kindly came & got the other kids. Ken & Judy were coincidentally on their way into town, which was comforting to know.
Once at the hospital, Lacey got really sick & threw up several times. Then, she fell asleep, which the ER doc said was a good thing. The doc decided she just had a concussion & that she would probably be fine in a couple of hours. So - we waited. We waited for hours. When she didn't seem to improve, the doc ordered an MRI. Thankfully, all was normal & for whatever reason, she was just taking longer than normal to "wake up". As I listened to the ER doc talk to the parents of a child in a neighboring bed about their child's brain tumor, I felt very thankful to be in the ER with a daughter who just had a mere concussion.The time for the birthday party came & went. Luckily, we have a guard gate, so I was able to make one phone call and asked the guard to let our guests know the party was canceled. We finally got to take Lacey home that evening, a good 7 hours after we entered the ER. She was somewhat lethargic & not herself for weeks! I will never know the full extent of the injury that day, but there was seriously something about Lacey that changed that day & has never been the same. It is hard to define, and of course, she's still Lacey - but on December 15, 2006, something about her changed.
About the birthday party. . . we rescheduled & had it the next week!
2 comments:
This is a very sad story:( I am glad to know the whole story though. I am sad that Lacey had to have such an experience, especially on her birthday!
That was a scary day, I remember talking to mom about it shortly after it happened. I felt so bad for Lacey, such an injury, right on her birthday. It sounds like part of her changed that day, and I am not sure that is a good thing? The brain is so complicated, and we really don't know much about it. I wonder how that family that had the child with the brain tumor is doing a year later. What a tragic trial that would be. I cannot, and hope I never have to imagine that. Lacey we are so glad you are here with us celebrating another birthday, and healthy!
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