Yesterday

Yesterday began as a typical afternoon. The kids were playing outside. They had the water going and made a river in the gutter to go down to the drain. It was a science experiment that was birthed out of their own creativity. Love it. Near the end of the experiment DS put on his helmet, got on his bike, and rode down to check out the river. He was excited to see how far the water had gone. 5-6 houses and almost to the drain. I was on the sidewalk a few feet in front of him when I turned around and saw the horrific. DS face planting into the cement. I was there as soon as it was over. He was already beginning to bleed and I knew it was not your typical fall off and get back on. I scooped him up in my arms and called DD into the house. Laying him on the couch I could see bloody teeth and a scrapped up face. I ran and got a wet washcloth. Prayed over him. Brief but sincere. Then I got a cold pack. The neighbor had been on her way over to drop somethings off to me. She ushered DD in and brought the bike up to the house. DS was crying and whimpering. I called daddy to tell him and ask him to pray. He encouraged me to have him sip some water to calm down and clean out the mouth, so that I could take a look. DS really did not want the water but I finally coaxed him to take a sip. Inside the mouth it looked like one small cut on the inner upper lip. I felt his teeth and they felt rooted and strong. Nothing loose. Thank God! He began to get concerned about what his face looked like and wanted to see. He went into the bathroom, still whimpering, then came back out. He laid back down on the couch. At this point I am thinking...observation, I need to watch him very closely. I sit down to be with him and calm him. We took off the damp clothes from playing in the water. A few minutes went by and then he looked at me lost and blank. "What happened to me? How did I get hurt?" I asked him some basic questions. He did not remember riding his bike, he did not remember what he was doing prior to falling off his bike. After a call to daddy and the doctors office, we determined to take him to ER. The neighbor came over for DD and hubby headed for home. DS and I headed for the hospital. At this point I knew he had his motor skills. He was walking, talking; able to move. I was concerned about his cognitive. I asked simple questions, what is your name, What did you do this morning, what did you do there? He knew all these things. It was the period of the impact and just before that he did not remember. The doctors office told me to not let him fall asleep on the way. Half way there he started to fall asleep. "DS WAKE UP!!" He did wake up, thankfully. He was mad and cranky, he wanted to sleep. Leave me alone and the like. I had to be obnoxious in keeping him awake. Tickling toes, while he tried to hide them seemed to be the most effective. He was laughing as he tried to keep them from me. He then went from I want to sleep to I want to look out the window. I pleaded with him, please don't fall asleep. He stayed awake. We pulled into the hospital and got a parking spot near ER. We walked in, told them what happened. We were seen in triage pretty much right away. Then we registered. Then we waited and waited and waited. I am not complaining here. Hospital Emergency rooms are there for emeregencies. They are not a first come first serve; they are a evaluate and be seen according to severity. I took comfort in the fact that since we were waiting so long it meant it wasn't of the severe.
2:30- Time of the accident
3:30- Arrived at hospital
4:30- He remembers the impact and what he was doing just before. Praise God.
5:30- DS falls asleep in waiting room. I check with the front desk and they say it ok to let him sleep.
6:20- He is approved to move to fast track. Which is more like an urgent care within the hospital. He is still asleep so I carry him over. He was very heavy and the walk was some what long, going through and around different departments and hallways. I kept shifting him and his weight. When we were almost there I shifted him again and he woke up. He walked the last few feet, then fell right back asleep.
6:35- In a room. Still asleep
7:00 Seen by a Physicians Assitant. She looks over the abbrasions, feels his teeth, looks at cut in mouth. Checks eyes and ears. He checks out fine. Cut in his mouth did not need stitches. She requested a cat scan of the face and bone structure of the head. She warned us this may take awhile. A request earlier in the day took 3 hours to be seen. We waited, he rested in my arms as I watched Friends and Everyone Loves Raymond. I explain what the scan will be like, he seems ok with it. Then a few minutes later we have the following conversation.
DS I do not want this scan
ME Why?
DS Do you want to argue with me?
He was so serious, it totally threw me off and I laughed. Really hard.
8:15 We head off for the scan. Since he was considered a head trauma, he had to ride in the wheel chair. He didn't want to. So we both got a ride in the wheel chair. He thought this was great fun. Then we arrived at the scan. He didn't really want to do the scan. So mom got to do a scan first. I laid down on the bed. They raised it up and moved me into the circle. He thought this was funny. It did the trick. He took off his shirt and laid down. He was covered with a warm blanket and strapped in. This part was a little sad. Not that he was scared or anything. It was seeing him strapped to a board. He was now convinced that this thing was cool. He was told to hold still and when he went into the circle to not talk. He followed instructions to the T. Woohoo. He came out and said, that is funny. Not traumatized. That's good. The tech gave him stickers and we were out of there.
8:35 Back to our room. Told results should be back soon. Call hubby to update, DS talked to daddy.
8:45 We were walking out the door. The results came back, all clear. No damage to his facial structure and no internal bleeding. We were given our walking papers with instructions. Wake him in the middle of the night and take it easy for at least 24 hours. Come back if anything worsens.

As I write this he is still sleeping. We shall see if he is able to "take it easy" for the day. We canceled all the days plans. The plan is to lay low. I am so thankful for God's protective hand on my son. For his complete restoration. I am thankful that the process went smoothly and the staff was kind. I am thankful, he was not poked and prodded. I am thankful he was wearing his helmet. I am thankful for friends that pray.