Sam's Concussion

My second born is a riot. He is a jokester and is constantly in motion. It's funny, he's pretty naturally athletic and loves sports, and yet he falls down ALL THE TIME. I'm not exactly sure how he manages that, but he does. I think it must be the law of averages--if you run everywhere, you're bound to fall more often than someone that walks everywhere, right?

Last week, while doing a math lesson with Jon, Sam comes running, hits the couch and falls backwards. His head hits the hardwood with a lot of force and a deafening thud. Now, it should be mentioned that because he falls often, this boy is pretty tough. He can be a whiner about other things, but he doesn't really cry about his injuries unless they're somewhat serious. He was silent and then cried out weakly. I knew this was worse than the usual fall, but as per my usual demeanor, optimistically assumed that I'd offer an ice pack and we'd be on our way. If only...

The next 15 minutes consisted of him looking more and more dazed. Sam began telling me his tummy hurt and he wanted to go to sleep. I'm no doctor, but I know that those are not good signs. While consulting Pete, his mom--a retired nurse, and our pediatrician, via phone, Sam began to throw up. (sorry, I know that's unpleasant) We quickly decided to take him to Cincinnati Children's Hospital. Thankfully, Pete came home and took him, leaving the other boys here with me. Waiting at home while they were gone was miserable, but having to take all three by myself would have been infinitely worse. I'm so thankful that Pete made that decision to cancel appointments and take him.

On the way to the hospital, Sam continued to get sick. Then he mentioned to Pete that his fingers were tingly and everything looked blurry. Scary stuff. This led to Sam's favorite part of the story--Pete speeding at 90 mph to Children's. Once at the hospital, Sam continued to be sick until they gave him something to calm his stomach. They were a bit concerned and ordered a CT Scan, which thankfully came back normal.

Pete took this picture to send me after the CT Scan. The medicine to calm his stomach had kicked in and he was perking up already. :)

They sent him home with instructions to "take it easy for a week" "no running, jumping, wrestling, bike riding, etc." If you're reading this and you've ever met a 4 year old boy, you know that this is nearly impossible. Add to that Sam's personality and you have completely impossible. It's like telling a kangaroo not to jump. I spent much of the past week saying, "stop running!" "no jumping!" "No! You cannot jump off of that!" and often, "Oh no! Was that your head that hit?" "Are you okay?" "Were you running again?"

Sam and I are thrilled to let you know that at his follow up appointment yesterday he was given the all clear. He's allowed to do all the normal boy things again! He has said at least 5 times in the past 24 hours, "I'm so glad I can do normal stuff again, Mom!" :) Me, too, my sweet boy. Me, too!

**edit**
it should be noted that I am so thankful for how God worked in all of this. I am fully aware that He could have answered our earnest prayers differently and still be fully God and completely holy. This whole situation has definitely given me a renewed appreciation for each of my little guys and helped me to pray more diligently for them and hug them a bit more often. <3