Monday, August 22, 2011

Austin's First Concussion

I write that it is Austin's first concussion because let's face it Joe and I have had about a dozen between the two of us so if she follows in our foot steps this is sure to not be the last.

We were busy cleaning and sorting our newly purchased goods from our storage units (post in detail to follow) and Joe and I were moving wood when we heard Austin fall and start crying. We went over there and she was laying next to a mop handle that she had tripped over. So far nothing about this seemed out of the ordinary, she trips all the time. Joe picked her up and every time we put her back down she started to cry even more so we just thought that she was extra tired from the night before because we had kept her up until 10ish unloading storage contents (black star for parenting). An hour or so went by with us taking turns holding her until finally we set her down on a chair by herself, she cried and hoped off and started puking. At this point we assumed that she had worked herself up into a tizzy and I should just call it a day and go home and put her to bed. She fell asleep on the way home in the car but then when I stopped the car she woke up and started puking again. Again though kids puke, plain and simple so we weren't that worried. I put her to bed and looked it up on the Internet and they said that kids under three that have puked 3 times or more in 6 hours after a fall need attention, at this point I was debating on taking her in when I heard her wake up and start puking again. Whelp here we go...packed her and Lil' Bit up in the car and went to the ER. After MANY hours and much more puking we finally saw a doctor who told us that it was a concussion and he would like to have a CAT scan. We weighed the options and decided to skip it, other than major brain bleeds which would require surgery the only thing the CAT scan would show us is how big and bad the bruise on her brain is. While it may be nice to know, it would terrify her to be in the CAT scan it's self so we passed. Took her home and continued to monitor her waking her up every couple hours and making sure she seemed "normal", who really seems normal at 3AM being woke up and asked questions.

Today she seems much better although yesterday when it got close to nap time she seemed slightly more irritable and almost confused but that may be from the craptastic night of sleep or from the concussion. We have to wait at least a week to make sure she doesn't have any other symptoms like seizures and such but other than that we should be out of the weeds. And we have to try and not let her hit her head again while it is healing...wow is that hard with a stumbly little 2 year old. I have at least 20 new gray hairs. I can also say that I have new found respect for anyone with a chronically sick child and for those people that decide not to have kids because they are scared of the heartbreak that is possible. I know my girls are worth the tears and stress but Saturday sucked pretty bad. :-(

Someone thinks hospital beds are pretty darn comfy. :-)


A very annoyed with waiting on the doctor Joe with his girls.


Austin sleeping on Joe while still waiting on the doctor.

3 comments:

Anne said...

ERs are both so wonderful and so sucky because they save lives but there is a LOT of waiting. I'm so glad Austin is okay!!! Events like that are sooooo scary particularly while they are happening.

LauraSuz said...

I'm so happy she's okay! How scary!! Tyler looks adorable sleeping. I forget about the swaddle so quickly. It gives me the baby bug - ek! ;)

And Joe's annoyed looks just like Dad.

Josh said...

Ah, that sucks. Been there. Braydon dropped Sydney on her head (she was about 5) on the hardwood floor at grandma's house. Had to go to the emergency room, wait 4 hours, and we opted FOR the CAT scan because of the height from which she fell.
Braydon was actually hospitalized when he was about 2 1/2 because of flu + pneumonia + asthma. There's nothing worse than sleeping on a hospital room floor with your child hooked up to oxygen and barely breathing for two days. I too then gained a greater appreciation for those parents with chronically ill children. The patience required is insane. But I wouldn't trade being a parent for anything :)