eleven days ago, i was packing to get us out of town. we were headed to tallahassee, both to visit family and to attend a two day parenting conference. the boys were excited about spending time with mimi and papa and i was excited that steve and i would get to spend some time together considering the great honor and responsibility of parenting our four boys.
just before lunch, as i was putting the last few items into our bag, titus took a fall. now, as you can imagine, with four boys, we are accustomed to falls (and the bumps and bruises that come with them). and obviously, as a two-year-old, titus is prone to clumsiness and fearlessness and sneakiness (a bad combo, but one that many little boys embody). so when i heard the thump and crying in the kitchen (i was in my room some 15 feet away... our house is quite small), i rushed over to check out the situation.
i found titus in the pantry holding his ear, and immediately knew what had happened. you see, titus is a climber. he climbs for fun, and he climbs to get what he wants (and usually should not have). we have been pulling him off or furniture and down from shelves since he was old enough to walk. and when i found him in the pantry, i knew that he had been climbing to get a snack while he knew i was not looking. and he had fallen. nothing to be too alarmed about... two-year-olds fall. and i am not a panicky person.
i removed his hand from his ear to take a closer look and administer kisses (which, of course, would make it immediately better). and it was bleeding. i sent gabe to get a rag and took titus to the couch. at worst (judging by the amount of blood i saw), i thought he would need stitches, so started looking for a cut. after a moment, it became clear that there was no cut. rather, the blood was coming from inside his ear. and he was crying harder than was typical (even for titus, who has a tendency to milk an injury). i grabbed my phone and called the pediatrician thinking that he must have somehow ruptured his eardrum. the nurse told me to take him to the ER.
somehow, i managed to get titus dressed (yes, he was wearing only underwear... this happens a lot in our house), get the baby in his carseat, get the big boys' shoes on (forgot titus's shoes), and get all four kids in the car fairly quickly. on the way, i called steve to let him know where i was headed and to assure him that it was probably no big deal (he was in jacksonville for work) but that we would likely have to alter our day's plans slightly.
at the hospital, i realized that i would need to carry both the baby carrier and titus. and there was no parking. so, i mustered up all the mom strength i could and with gabe and ezra holding hands behind me, i walked 7 miles (or at least it felt like that far) from the far end of the parking lot to the ER entrance (all the while encouraging the big boys, "okay boys, keep up... titus has a big adventure to get to and mommy's arms are getting tired!). once inside, we got through triage very quickly and were led to a very ICUish looking room (glass doors and all that, much more serious looking than the normal ones).
the doctor who saw us was very kind. he had me relay the story to him of what happened (to the best of my knowledge, since neither i nor the older boys saw the fall) and then looked into titus's ear. and he was concerned. he explained that normally he would expect a ruptured eardrum, but he could not even see the eardrum clearly from all the blood. in fact, the more he looked, the harder titus cried. and the harder he cried, the more it bubbled and bled inside. he asked if it was possible that titus had put something in his ear that may have cut it (not likely as i had not really been gone that long, and it didn't really make sense for him to have done that while looking for a snack).
the doctor was concerned about the continued bleeding and began to explain the two most likely culprits. the first (and most likely) was a ruptured eardrum caused by air forced in upon impact. the second (and certainly most unexpected, given titus's age and the flexibility of a two-year-old's bones) was a skull fracture (which could be accompanied by bleeding in the brain, concussion, or any number of other absolutely terrifying things).
i said before, i don't panic easily. God knew what he was doing when He gave me four boys. i am pretty good in a crisis and i freak out only after things are dealt with. and at this moment, even though i can remember thinking that panic would be an acceptable response, i felt peace rush over me. i said a prayer for my boy and called steve.
the next hour or so were spent getting a cat scan and chest x-rays (not as hard as it could have been... titus is a great patient) and trying to keep everyone happy. there was a little tv that they could watch PBS on and the nurse brought in crackers and coke for the big boys. the baby was happily watching from his carseat. the doctor had explained that no matter which it was (eardrum or skull), titus would have to be transferred to wolfson's children's hospital in jacksonville for further treatment, so i was actively searching for someone to come pick up gabe and ezra (steve was still stuck at work).
when the doctor returned, i knew the answer even before he told me. it was a skull fracture. but his brain looked good. he went on to explain that because the injury was critical (head traumas always are, i guess) and given titus's age and the fact that it was an unwitnessed accident, there would be need for DCF to investigate the incident. i had already guessed that this would be the case, but figured that it would be no big deal since i hadn't done anything wrong.
my good friend, dana, came to pick up the big boys (it seems that she is always rescuing me these days), and with the help of a pacifier brought to me by an incredibly kind nurse, i finally got jonah to sleep in his carseat. then, i climbed into the hospital bed with titus and we cuddled together and watched "curious george" while we waited for the transport ambulance to arrive.
... continued in part 2.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment