The White House

The White House

Sunday, July 24, 2011

It Is What It Is

I know you've heard me use that phrase before...when all the negative stuff is happening to me or the kids...I always say...it is what it is...because it is out-of-my-control and letting it consume me won't change things.

I am smack in the middle of another one of those situations.

Thursday around 2:00AM or so my Elijah was hurt pretty badly. He was where he should not have been doing things he wasn't allowed to do without my knowledge because he was supposed to be under the supervision of the adults of another home. Without going in to all those details I will tell you this...he was riding a motorcycle when he ran into a cable across a driveway. The cable close-lined him (hit his neck) and he slammed back to the ground and fractured his head on something very sharp and pointy.

I received a call from the troopers about his injuries and met him at the hospital. Due to the lack of neurosurgeons in Fairbanks plans were made for him to be medivaced to Anchorage via LifeMed. Of course, I went with him. Homer made sure I had some different shoes, a phone charger and my wallet...all brought to me by our neighbor. Around 5:30 we left the hospital by ambulance, boarded a Lear jet, landed in Anchorage and were at Providence Hospital by 8:00AM.

There were x-rays and MRI's and then the wait for an open operating room. At noon Elijah went in for a 3 hour surgery and at 3:30 I was taken to recovery. He wouldn't wake up for the nurses, but did so with the sound of my voice...enough they let him go back to the room. Naturally, he was wiped out from not sleeping all night and day.

He suffered a pretty major head trauma. The fractured bone was pushing significantly into the brain. The miracle is that when the surgeon pulled the bone out the membrane wasn't ruptured. He dodged that bullet as well as the first one....keeping his head attached in the first place.

Of course, my husband would have been here before he even went into surgery, but I asked him not to. I wanted him to stay and get the house and other children in order. I am a strong woman and deal with stressful situations quite well if I don't have to deal with other people.

It is a little after 11PM on Sunday night. We are 56 hours from surgery and my son has kept me very busy. (Only now did I just learn I could hop on the nurses computer in his room).

I scratch, roll, tuck, cover, hydrate, feed, soothe pretty much non-stop. I had 1.5 hours of sleep Thursday night, 4 hours Friday, none last night and a 2 hour nap today. But enough about me....

Elijah has a long way to go to recovery. He is suffering massive head aches from the swelling, but that swelling should start to go down in another 16 hours or so. He has partial paralysis on his right side (left side brain injury). He can move his right arm, but it feels very heavy. The gross motor skills are shaky and the fine motor skills aren't there. While laying in bed he can lift his right leg up a little and can feel faint touching to the skin, but he has zero movement from the ankle down. When we get him up to stand the right side of his body is a useless weight. The prognosis is unknown as it is too early. We have to manage his pain and wait for the swelling to go down. He has PT come once a day and then throughout the day when I am not tending to all his other needs I work on stretching and moving the "dead" side. It is pretty much full-time around the clock care as he doesn't sleep much with the pain.

I'm going to get this posted and try to get a little sleep. I'll post some updates when I have time. I need to set up mobile blogging in order to post photos so I guess you'll just have to use your imagination. My husband Homer brought my son Nick down today. They got the house situated. Grandma Debbi has the little ones and Emily is with her dad so I could no longer keep him away. We've got a long road ahead of us, but this is what us mom's do...we accept that it is what it is and do what we need to do for the love of our children.

15 comments:

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

Oh dear Gayle ~ My heart goes out to you and your family at this time. I pray that Elijah's recovery will be swift. Thank you for letting us know this has happened and I will be watching for updates too. Do take care of yourself, as you are Elijah's main caregiver.

Love and hugs to you ~ FlowerLady

Lori Skoog said...

Gayle! What a shocker! Elijah is a strong young man (like his mother) and will progress with time...as that swelling goes down. I am so sorry that your family has to deal with this, after all of the other things you have been going through. Please give him my best and keep us posted. Hope you are able to get some sleep.

gpc said...

I am so sorry. My heart is with you. Brain injuries are such a great mystery and, as you say, it takes a long time to know what you're dealing with. The waiting is horrible, but he is young and resilient and miracles can happen. My daughter was in a coma for many weeks with a massive brain injury, I was told that (if she lived) she would not walk or talk again. But when they finally got her off life support, she essentially sat up and checked herself out of the hospital. Praying for a full recovery, and for continued strength for you.

stace41971 said...

I'm glad that he kept his head attached...you're right in that he was lucky...I've had a couple of high school friends die from accidents involving atv's and being somewhere they shouldn't have been doing things they shouldn't have been doing.

((HUGS)) Try and get some rest, you're going to need to take care of yourself so you can be there for him in the weeks and months to come. Keeping you in my thoughts!

Amanda said...

Gayle, you are all in our thoughts and prayers! What a horrifying accident! I'm glad that he is "okay," and I'll keep praying for a smooth recovery.

Friend, try to get some sleep. Being sleep deprived will not help you help him any. Even if it's an hour here or there. When Kaitlynn had her cranial surgery, there was no way I could've gotten any sleep in her room. They offered up a parents room, and I took full advantage. I was so much more prepared to take care of her after a full nights rest!

You're all in our prayers!

Hollie said...

This is just awful..much love and positive thinking coming your way, for Elijah, yourself, and the rest of your family.

RottenMom said...

Gayle, I am so very sorry to read this. I will pray for Elijah and for your family. I wish I could be there in Anchorage with you to help you through this.

Keep us updated.
Love you.

Mama Bean said...

Oh my goodness Gayle, this is... I have no words. I am so *glad* for the good in this (that the fragment didn't puncture the membranes) but so not glad for all the tough stuff... Will be praying for you and your husband and the other kiddos. This sucks. You are amazing.

B said...

Gayle, you and Elijah are in my prayers. STay strong, know that your blogging community are thinking of you all.

RottenMom said...

I'm back. I can't stop thinking about Elijah. My whole family is praying for him. Stay strong Gayle.

sweetlittleblue1 said...

Praying for a quick and full recovery!

Kim@Snug Harbor said...

OMG-Gayle, I am praying for you both. Please try to get some rest yourself before you get run down. Thanks for posting as I'm sure everyone was wondering what the heck happened. Hopefully Elijah will recuperate quickly - he is young, strong and strong willed, so that is all in his favor.

Patty said...

I will keep looking for updates and keep praying for you all, especially Elijah. Don't forget, he takes right after his strong momma-he will get better.
Again Gayle, I'm here, call if you need anything.

anymommy said...

Oh, sweet boy. Holding you both in my thoughts Gayle. I am so sorry that you are going through this. I am awed by your strength. Wishing you sleep and peace and him healing. Much, much love.

Snowbird said...

Gayle, continued thoughts and prayers are headed your way. I hope you can get some rest though. A caregiver can't give care if they don't take care of themselves first!