We are always up for a little adventure, but a lot of adventure is a lot overwhelming.
Jordan came home from his first day of school telling us that he hit his head on the concrete floor. This seemed a little odd since his teacher had not said anything about Jordan getting hurt. I was able to get ahold of her and she said that he hadn’t.
That evening while we were talking before bed, Jordan told me that he hit his head on the concrete steps downstairs. We don’t have concrete steps and I’m sure we would have known if something had happened.
Each of these stories made Randy and I uneasy. I called from work the next morning to see how he was feeling and he seemed ok. Every once in a while he tells us his head hurts.
The day after, as I picked him up from school, his teacher informed me that he had diarrhea a couple of times. As we were talking, he laid his head on my lap asking to go home. This was especially odd because a few days earlier he was fighting me not to leave.
I took him home and laid him down for his nap. After a couple of hours I went to check on him and found he was really sick. That was the last straw, Randy and I decided to take him to the emergency room to have his shunt checked.
This was going to be our second trip to the new ER at Akron Children’s. The first had been with Gabriella in June after she had taken a spill from the stairs and hit her head on the hardwood floor at my parents’ house shortly after we had moved into their basement.
We were so thankful to be at my parents this time, too, so we could leave Gabriella behind and focus on Jordan. He was still his silly self, joking around with the emergency department staff. But the poor little man was so thirsty while waiting for the results from his CT scan and shunt series that he asked to wash his hands. He then proceeded to cup them to try to wet his whistle.
After selecting Dolphin Tail 2 – we were so excited about the ER’s new feature of being able to pick a movie from the TV – Jordan and I snuggled up with his request to adjust the bed just right.
The ER staff asked several times whether Jordan had been exposed to someone who had a stomach virus since he was not showing the typical shunt malfunction signs. However, to the staff’s surprise, the results showed Jordan’s shunt was indeed blocked.
The question then became whether to do the surgery that night or early morning, or wait until the surgery schedule freed up the next day. Well, low and behold Jake, the physician assistant, visited his room once we were admitted. He said they were going to go ahead and relieve our little man’s headache at 3 o’clock that morning.
I’ll just put this out there since we’ve been down the surgery road before. Some of the anxiety may have started because it was the first time I can remember that Jordan had some separation issues going back into surgery. I also contribute it to the fact that he had not eaten or drank since lunchtime.
Surgery at 3 a.m. makes your mind go places when no one is in the waiting area. When the clock ticks a minute past when they thought they would be done you think the worst.
What a relief to see Dr. Hughes come out. Our little man did great. He woke up from the anesthesia really well. In fact he was still asking for the red popsicle he was promised while in the ED. We are so thankful for our team of doctors and nurses that took care of our little family.
We’re also thankful for Barkers – the plush dog Akron Children’s gives to patients – for being Jordan’s companion throughout his surgery and recovery. It really means a lot to send a friend to keep our little man company when we’re not there.
On the way home from picking up Gabriella she threw up all over the car seat and continued throughout the night. Now this may seem a little odd, but PRAISE THE LORD for the stomach virus.
We concluded that this is what caused us to take Jordan to the emergency department. Knowing us, we are not a fan of extra radiation with CT scans and x-rays. Typically we watch for a couple of days to see if everything subsides.
We were glad to be home as a family again and were still praying to find rest while taking care of our little ones.
Read more about Megs and Randy’s experiences as parents of 2 children, including Jordan who has spina bifida.
