One year ago today.....

One year ago today Greg and I brought home our sweet baby boy from the hospital after a 6 day stay. It was the scariest time of our lives. Seven days prior I had taken the kids with me to the post office to mail some Christmas packages. It was extremely cold, windy, and snowy outside so I put Matthew in the stroller, grabbed the packages and ran inside, trying not to get the kids cold and wet. The line was long so I placed the packages on the table they have along the line and waited. I had some small talk with the woman in front of me, she complimented me on how cute and well behaved both my children were and we talked about the weather. Haley had walked over to the items for sale and was looking at them. I heard a very loud but deep thump. I looked over at Haley thinking she had dropped something. After realizing she hadn't, I looked at Matthew in the stroller and he wasn't there. He was face down on the floor and not crying. I screamed for someone to call 911 and got down on the floor with him. The lady I had been talking to took off her coat and offered it to me to wrap him in when we both realized that not only did he have a huge goose egg on his head but that he was also turning blue. I remember the lady say that he wasn't breathing and I grabbed him in my arms which was probably not the safest thing to do. I started rubbing him and shaking him a little and telling him to wake up. He finally started to cry and there was a huge sigh of relief from myself, the woman helping me, as well as a man that came over. One of the postal ladies brought over some ice for the swelling. I had a pretty quick peace come over me that he was going to be okay but then I suddenly realized that my sweet Haley had been watching the whole thing. I looked at her and told her that Matthew was just fine and everything was going to be okay. She gave me this sweet grin that was encouraging, empathetic, loving, and concerned all in one.

The ambulance finally arrived and checked him out. We got him into the ambulance where they continued to triage him. We had to get the car seat out so he could ride safely. Haley and I rode in the back with him. The EMT gave Haley a little Shark named T-Bone. Haley loved it and still has it in a very special place. While they were getting him hooked up to tubes and oxygen, putting a neckbrace on, and checking everything out, someone began banging on the ambulance door. It was some lady who was upset that the ambulance was blocking her into the parking space. The EMT was so upset with her and put her in her place. We saw both good and bad parts of humanity that day. I, for one, liked the good parts.

During the ambulance ride he was stable so they drove a normal speed without the lights on. Not long after, though, he started getting very lethargic and then lost conciousness. The EMT told the driver to go "lights on" and we heard the sirens wailing and saw the lights flashing. The cars were going by very quickly in the window. The EMT got on the phone with the hospital and was updating them while he was poking Matthew with needles and doing a sternum rub. The air was very tense. I looked over at Haley who was facing the entire scene and she had her head bowed, her eyes closed, and her hands folded and was praying for her brother out loud. It was the most wonderful moment I have ever experienced. I just broke down and wept. To see the image of my 4 year old daughter with enough strength and faith to pray out loud in an ambulance for her brother, I knew I wanted to be just like her. She became my hero that day. The amount of strength, poise, and faith she had that day was overwhelming.

To make an already long story a little shorter, Matthew survived the head trauma with a major concussion and a horrible bruise and bump. We were released late that evening into the arms of Greg who had been at work the entire time, completely unaware. The next morning Matthew began throwing up, a horrible sign of a head injury worse than previously thought. The pediatrician sent him back to the hospital where he underwent more tests, including another MRI. It was determined that his head injury was the same and that he probably had the flu. He started breaking out in extreme hives all over his body, running a fever, and continuing to vomit. It took him 6 days to recover from this in the hospital. Greg and I stayed with him all the time while Haley was bounced around from friend to friend. Greg and I both wound up getting the stomach flu and Greg was actually sent to the hospital. It was a crazy six days and we did not know if we would make it home for Christmas. Finally, the Dr. told us Matthew could go home. We were elated and tired. Sleeping on a hospital floor is not exactly the most comforting thing in the world. But, our baby was going to be okay and we would all be together for Christmas. We went to church later that evening and worshiped God with all that we had. It was a great day.