Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Fixed eyes, a head injury and an M&M's addiction

I have much to share! I'll start with the best news. Elijah got his new glasses! Could any kid be better-suited for glasses than him? They suit his personality very well, I think. He did ok with them today, but did not like the patch at all. He has to wear a patch on his right eye for two hours every day, and I have a feeling this is going to be quite a daily struggle (like we need more daily struggles). Patching his good eye makes his other eye work pretty hard, which is good (for his eye) and bad (for those who have to deal with the complaining).



Two days ago, I was upstairs working on my blog and Dan was downstairs doing the budget (his favorite thing). Sammy was taking a nap, and Elijah was having quiet time at the computer. All of a sudden I heard chair legs screeching on the floor, followed by a splat and a murderous Elijah scream. He had somehow fallen off his chair and landed head-first onto the tile floor. A huge bump formed very quickly on the back of his head. I probably would have been comfortable not bringing him to the hospital if the bump had been our only concern. A few minutes after the fall, once he had calmed down, he started complaining about not being able to see us. He kept saying that his head was "up and couldn't get back down," and then he would say, "Mommy, I can't see you!" I brought him to the ER immediately. I know enough about head injuries to know not to waste time when neurological symptoms are present.



The ER doctor said he had a good deal of swelling and because he had complained of vision problems, a CT scan was ordered. The results were normal. He had suffered a mild concussion, but nothing was structurally damaged. The nurse told me to expect him to be "off" for about a week, but those vision complaints within 10 minutes of his fall were the only "off" things we have witnessed.



He was such a BRAVE BRAVE BOY during the CT scan. He had complete trust in me when I told him that nothing was going to hurt. He had to get "tied down" pretty tightly for the scan, and he did great. He's maturing! Just a short time ago, he would not have done well with that. I was very proud of my boy. Then we sat together on a bed in Room 16 and snuggled and talked and hugged and sang songs while we waited for the results. I don't know exactly how to explain this, but it was a weird experience for me. Sitting in a hospital with that special little boy of mine always, no matter what we are there for, brings me to tears. Happy, sad, thankful, sorrowful tears. I tried to put it into words to explain to Dan, but I couldn't. I can't explain it. There's just deep-rooted emotion there that I don't believe will ever go away. Elijah + hospitals = emotional mama.



The bump on E's head is still there, but he seems to be doing just fine. It has not hindered his sass or pooping-in-pants at all!

Our sweet Sammy needs rehab for his M&M's addiction. I had some left over from a recipe I made the other night, so I gave the boys each a small handful after dinner. Ever since then, Sammy has been asking for M-N-M-N-M (stick your tongue out on the Ns) about every 5 minutes. He gets such a funny little concerned look on his face when he asks for them. He's an addict!

And in other news, since being unemployed (or I should say since being SELF-employed!), I have been a home-organizing lunatic! After literally YEARS of carrying the I-don't-have-time-to-take-care-of-my-home burden heavily on my shoulders, I finally have time to take care of my home! I am loving this! Dan has helped me to create an office for myself in our loft, where I have been spending a few hours every day doing blog work and photo editing. We have also gone through all of the boys' toys and put three large bags in storage (aka, our messy garage). I have also sorted through my ridiculous pile of cooking magazines and organized them. Today I washed couch and chair covers. I am consistently CAUGHT UP ON LAUNDRY, which is the absolute strangest thing on the planet. When I was working full-time, I was never ever caught up on laundry. NEVER. And the best thing of all is that I get so much quality time with my precious boys. Spending this time with them is very special to me. Getting Elijah on and off the bus every day is indescribable. Snuggling with Sammy endlessly on the couch is the best. I love having this time with my boys!

I have another organizational project for tomorrow that I'm excited about! I'll take before and after pics and share. Fun!

Thanks for checking in on us! More later!

6 comments:

Cecilia said...

Thanks for the update!

Hopefully the bump on Elijah's head will soon be gone.

Good luck with the organizational project!

Dogstars said...

Keep up with the eye patch! It really works wonders. Of course he won't like it - but it will get better.

jencooper said...

Love the glasses!! Super cute!!

I am glad that things are settling into a new routine. I hope that things continue to be positive!!

And...give the boy some mnmnmnms!!

dxeechick said...

ah, i know the patching problems so well! it gets annoying quick. my little guy is too young to really complain, but he tries ripping it off constantly. hope E will get used to it. and congrats for getting to be at home! sounds like you're enjoying it thoroughly! :)

Sarah said...

He looks SO cute in his glasses. Evan has ptosis of the eyelid's and they have talked glasses but so far we haven't had to. So I got tears in my eyes reading about you trying to explain your feelings when your in the hospital with Elijah. I can't explain it - it's like Evan and I are connected - like I competely understand him and everytime I have a hunch or I think Evan is... I'm right. I'm not making sense I'm afraid, much like it was hard for you to make it into words, it is for me too. But I get it. Then I laughed at this statement "It has not hindered his sass or pooping-in-pants at all!" LOL...

Wendy said...

Hi Megan!

Oh, I love seeing the photos of your little guys! They are so stinkin' cute....and my goodness, Sammy has grown up so much!!!

So sorry to hear about Elijah's fall! Poor guy! I'm glad to hear he's doing all right! And what a brave boy allowing them to do the CT scan....maybe he could teach Emma to just let the nurses take her blood pressure! :)

Elijah looks so handsome in his new glasses...and the patching is no fun. :( Donnie thinks it's funny to pull Emma's patches out and torture her with them. She screams and he laughs. Gotta love big brothers! (Emma doesn't wear them anymore, but her eyes tend to drift outward when she's tired.)

It's so nice to hear that you're at home and getting to spend some fun times with your boys. There's nothing better in the world, and it goes by so quickly! Cherish the moments!

Take care and give those cuties a hug from us! You are always in my thoughts and prayers!

Heart Hugs from Utah,
Wendy (& Emma, too!)