Thanksgiving Holiday and Happenings

I was especially excited for Thanksgiving this year. John's family had rented a cabin in Broken Bow, OK. There were actually three cabins nested together and his aunts rented the others. So almost ALL of John's family stayed the entire holiday in cabins just a few feet from each other. I am sick that I didn't get a picture of the outside of the cabins. I really didn't get any good ones of the inside. Here are a few that show the inside of ours. And when I say cabin, don't think rustic! These had hot tubs on the porch, king sized beds with super fluffy down comforters, televisions...my idea of good "camping"! They were absolutely beautiful!





We arrived Wednesday night and had a spread at Aunt Gay's cabin, and let the stomach stretching begin! There were about 20 people already there, it was hoppin! We were exhausted and Quincy was overwhelmed by the people and the volume! We didn't stay too long and decided that we would catch up with everyone the next day at Thanksgiving Lunch.

The next morning proved to be one of the hardest of my life thus far. After staying up late and getting up early (my life since Q) I was ready for a nap before the day really got started. At noon everyone was to meet at a restaurant in Broken Bow for lunch. Quincy was being given plenty of attention by the family so I went to rest.

A few minutes later I heard Q cry. I figured he had fallen, as he often does. I heard a hurt cry but it stopped soon. A few minutes later I heard him cry again. And again. I went to see what was going on and Q was resting on John's shoulder. Apparently Q was in his booster seat at the table and pushed with his feet off of the table and tipped his chair back onto the floor. His head hit the back of the chair that his booster was strapped to.

He didn't smile at me and looked zoned out. It was close to his nap time and John decided to lay him down. Seconds later John emerges from our room with Q and lots of vomit on the both of them. At that point it was like a big red light went off with everyone. After this point everything moved very quickly. Jason called out the phone number to the local hospital as I dialed to ask them what to do. They of course said to bring him in. He then started to projectile vomit. Now was there not only a red light but a very loud buzzer that heightened the awareness with all of us that something was very wrong. Within seconds John had put Q in the car seat, I jumped into the back with him and John instructed Jason to come with us to the hospital since he was the one with directions.

I know that we were driving very fast. When I caught my breath I asked how far it was to the hospital. Someone said about twenty minutes. Twenty minutes??? A few minutes later I heard twenty-eight miles to Idabel. That was where the hospital was. Quincy looked like he was getting sleepy. I talked and sang to him. His eyes continued to grow heavy and I took him out of his car seat to try and keep him awake. It worked for only a few minutes. Before he closed his eyes I kept looking at his pupils which looked to be equal, round, reactive to light. That was really all that I knew to look for. Once he went to sleep is sort of when I lost it with God.

I have had this fear since we've come home from the hospital...the fear that something will happen to John or Quincy. A very real fear that breaks my heart if I even let my mind begin to go there. I remind myself that neither John or Quincy are "mine" and that God has blessed me with them, and maybe only for today. Every time I look at that precious precious precious little boy I just want to build a wall around him, shelter and protect him. I then feel a nudge in my heart and mind from God that I can't do that. So many days (just about every time I think about how much I love him...which is multiple times in a day) I have to tell myself, "they are not mine". So, on the way to the hospital, as my mind couldn't help but think the worst, I lost it with God. I begged and pleaded for Q to wake up. He was unconscious and I was helpless.

We made it to the hospital quickly, rushed him in, and the wonderful staff took care of him. Sometimes you think in a rural town, Thanksgiving day (at noon of course) the care might not be top notch. I disagree--it may have been to our benefit that there was no one there in the ER except a man and his dog. Or, simply that God was taking care of us and we were attended to quickly and expertly.

As the nurse took him from my arms I followed. John had the diaper bag and insurance card (yes in the frantic rush to the hospital I remembered to grab the insurance card--I work at a hospital and know that you can practically be dead and they will ask for your insurance card), so he stayed behind. We were taken to a trauma room and Q was laid on the bed. It was bright and loud. There were about 5 staff members in there, everyone had a limb and his eyes opened. He was scared and started to cry. I think that everyone breathed a HUGE sigh of relief when those blue eyes opened. And I was glad to see him scream.

Everything after that is a blur and my mind began to slow down. The doctor said that Q's pupils were slower to react to light than he wanted and ordered a CT. He did not much like this. I didn't either. I had to get on top of him to hold him still. It scared him to death. Thank goodness it only lasted a few minutes. It was awkward and scary. The results were good. The doctor said that in head injury with loss of consciousness this was the best outcome that we could hope for. Go home, wake him every 2 hours for the next 24. Really, that is all that I remember. Talk about being thankful. What a day. So I'll end on a happy note with pictures of my beautiful family...