Wednesday, May 26, 2010

The worst day of my life since the worst day of my life

Update: May 26th, 17:45ish: Well, I guess it's been quite obvious what my mind has been on the last 4 days.  I intend for this to be my last update to this post; close out the file as it were.  We finally got pictures of the car today.  There is no doubt about it, that truck was pointed directly in Jonathan's path.  I am thankful beyond words for how minor his injuries were compared to "what could have been".  When I started this blog and said that there is surely more to come, I had no idea what was coming, but I thank God for watching over Jonathan and his mother and sister and I thank all of you for your kindness and support!



Update: May 25th 17:45ish:  I know that re-posting the same post with updates may seem somewhat unorthodox, but I've got two good reasons: 1)  I wanted to keep the whole thing together, and 2) It's my blog, lol.

Jonathan had his bandages removed today (what looks like a 5" stair-case shaped cut is actually 14 individual lacerations from the glass).  As a result of a bit of a scare this morning we were back at the ER.  During breakfast, Jonathan announced that he was "seeing sparklies".  This passed quickly but shortly thereafter he was fidgeting with the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes, and saying "something's happening".  So, back to the ER it was.

Unbelievably, he was in a bed in a little under 10 minutes (they don't screw with kids here) and he had a student doctor check him out, then a nurse, then another nurse, then the ER doctor.  He was back to his usual self by now and a bit hungry from missing morning snack.  All his reflexes were in check, muscle control normal, eyes all good, and so on and so forth.  The ER doctor said she would order another cat scan if I really wanted to, but I also had to consider that this would expose him to more radiation and is very likely going to come out the same as the one the day before.  We agreed however that if he were to "see sparklies" again or have a headache, we should come right back in and they'd do the scan.


So far so good the rest of the day.  He's still happy and playful.  The sight of his cuts really upset him so we're trying to keep him away from mirrors.  We will be keeping a close eye on him and he will be staying home from school tomorrow with mom.


I don't have any pictures of the car yet, but we've been told it's a write-off... I guess that mini-van is coming sooner than planned.  Honestly, I really don't care about the car, or having a second car payment.  Even though the picture looks nasty (the one without the gauze is a little more dried blood and stuff I thought I'd spare the world), it was very minor compared to what could have been without a car seat or seat belt.  I have no doubt in my mind that infant-toddler-booster seat saved him a lot of pain and anguish; great investment.  It's toast now, but I'm going to drop the bucks on a full back, bolstered booster seat and I'm not even going to bat an eyelash.


Thank you to all for your kind words and prayers.  This really is a great group there!!!





Update: May 24th 12:30: He was discharged from the hospital about an hour and a half ago.  He is to be fully supervised for the next 48 hours and is to see out family doctor ASAP after today (holiday here).  He will likely be back at school on Thursday.  Mom and sister are fine; they sustained no injuries except a couple faint scratches from flying glass.  Jonathan is not happy that we're not taking him outside to play on this beautiful day, but maybe tomorrow we'll go for a walk around the block.  The stitches that aren't dissolving will likely be pulled out next Monday.  I am very very thankful that it wasn't worse... it could have been a lot worse! 


Update: May 24th 05:40: He ate at about 8pm and we watched some TV. He's slept through the night. We "woke him up" once to check him, but he was his usual self and did not want to wake up (he showed normal responses though). His BG went up a bit while on the IV but came back down on their own (8.8 @ 4am). He's still sleeping but hopefully it will be business as usual in a few hours.



Original post, May 23rd, evening:
This is one of the ones that I wish I never had occasion to post. The phone call no parent ever wants to get. The one to tell you that your family is surrounded by EMTs, Firefighters, and Police.

A mere four blocks from home, my wife's car (02 Chevy Malibu) was struck during a left hand turn by a full-size pickup truck. The rear passenger door was pushed in a good foot to a foot and a half and the windows shattered. The car was thrown back about 20 feet.

The good news is, he's ok. He took some glass in the side of the head and there was a fair amount of blood, but the glass has been removed and there seems to be no other trauma and nothing detectable near the eye. The cat scan showed nothing wrong and he's had chest and neck x-rays (yet to be developed).

He's a little groggy still from the sedative they gave him but he's in good spirits. The ER staff is absolutely floored at how good he's been about the whole thing. I wasn't with him when it happened, but I saw him on the gurney next to the car (lost it for the first time) and he was just laying there looking at me, said hi and smiled. I saw him in the ER (lost it for the fourth time) and he was just chillin. When he went for the cat scan they said he was remarkably well behaved.

Amazingly this seemed to have no impact what so ever on his blood sugar. I thought for sure he'd be stressed out to no end and his BG through the roof, but he was at 3.6 at about 4pm and after being on an IV for an hour that had doubled. He's dipped less than 1 an hour since is Lantus injection, but I'll be keeping an eye on him all night - both his BG and waking him up from time to time.

He wants to play, but I think we'll just sit back and watch some TV and hang out. This has been the worst day since D-day, I don't want any more of these.

15 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh Marc... I am so sorry your little guy had to go through that, but I'm glad to hear it's not affecting his blood sugar. How is your wife doing? Praying for a speedy recovery for everybody.

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  2. Dear God. I am so glad that he's ok. That is horrible. Sounds like he's such a little trooper! Praying for you guys - and hoping that he recovers quickly with no problems at all. Is your wife ok? UGh. Wishing you all no more worst days.

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  3. OH MARC! I can't imagine. Prayers for your family! I'm so glad he is with you, ok and in your arms. I hope your wife is ok too. I hope this is the very last worst day you ever have to blog about!

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  4. Oh my gosh! So glad he's ok! Hope everyone else is too and heals quickly!
    I rolled our SUV shortly after my daughters dx and the stress did nothing to the sugar either!

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  5. My thoughts and prayers are with you. I am glad he is safe.

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  6. HOLY CRAP!! I could not even imagine poor little guy and poor you and your wife (How is she doing?). I'm so GLAD to here that everything is ok!!

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  7. That is horrible and so scary, thank goodness that everyone is doing ok!!!

    I will be thinking of you and your family this week as everyone recovers...I just love that your son is already wanting to head outside for some playtime!!! That is good news :)

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  8. I am so sorry you had to go through this! Words can not express how sorry I am you had to get that call! Please know you have prayers coming from Chesapeake VA and we are glad everything will eventually be okay

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  9. Thanks for the updates! Your little guy is such a cutie! I'm so glad he is ok!

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  10. Oh my goodness, Marc!!! So scary! I'm glad that everyone's going to be okay! I'll be thinking of you all, sending best wishes for a speedy recovery!

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  11. Oh gosh, what a scary thing!!! I'm so glad everyone is doing okay. I'll keep you all in my thoughts.

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  12. WOW! I hope everyone is recovering emotionally as well. After I was in an accident several years ago, I had nightmares for weeks :(

    PRAISE GOD that your family was spared.

    I'd love to hear what booster you decide on. Sometimes I feel like I'm guilty of taking our safety on the roads for granted. Thanks for the reminder that nothing is guaranteed.

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  13. Oh dear!!! I am soooo sorry I missed this Marc! I hope he is still on the mend. My thoughts are with you and your family. I am so glad you are all OK.

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  14. I have my hand to my agape mouth. How awful. I am glad all are ok.

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  15. HOLY COW!!! I am so far behind on reading... things have just been crazy. I had no idea you guys were in an accident. I am glad everyone is well. Take care of yourselves.

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