Today is Thursday. In the FB world, it is also known as Throwback Thursday. Most people use it as a day to post really old pics of themselves and/or their family and friends for the world to look at and see how much they have changed, most of the time, for the better. Well, this Throwback Thursday has a new meaning for me. While I will not be posting a pic from the past, hopefully I will paint a picture in your mind. One year ago today, my life was pretty normal. I was going about my day: a little house cleaning, a shower, getting ready for a parent-teacher conference at Kaylas school, trying to get ready for an impending back surgery in 2 days (which was the most stressful thing about my life at that moment!) Mom and I were supposed to go see Dylan that Saturday, but my surgeon said the surgery needed to be done, so I texted him on Tuesday and told him we would have to reschedule. He texted back and said I hope everything goes well. That Wednesday, at exactly 2:40pm, Amanda called me. I was drying my hair, getting ready to leave for the conference, so I let her leave a message. After all, she was probably just calling to tell me that she hoped my surgery went well on Friday. She is that kind of person, sweet and caring. After she left the message, I had a nagging voice that said, But what if that wasnt it? What if something has happened to Dylan? What if something bad has happened? So I thought, Ill just listen to the message and call her back when I am on the road to the school. That was the precise moment that my whole world changed FOREVER! I heard her panicked voice tell me that Dylan has been hit by a car and is at Wake Med in Raleigh! My aunt is there with him. My parents are on their way there and I am on my way back from Greenville. This could not be happening! I just texted him yesterday and he texted me back! He was fine! Now he may be dying!? Oh God! Please dont let this be happening! Please save my Boy!! Kayla was at school in Nebo and the teacher was waiting on me for a parent conference. Gordon was teaching a class in Hickory. Raleigh was 4 hours away! I did not have time to wait on them to get home! I could not drive myself there! I felt like I was going to pass out! This had to be a bad dream!! I called our church secretary to ask if she could come to my house. I called my sister in law to see if she could get Kayla. They both came over to the house to help me compose myself and get a few things packed in an overnight bag. I didnt pack much, because after talking to the police officer and Amandas aunt, I really thought I was only going down to identify him and that we would be coming back the next day. The officer asked me how long it would take me to get there and did I have someone to drive me. He said it was a bad accident and things did not look good. (I, as a nurse, have made that call to families, saying Your family member has taken a turn for the worse. How quickly can you get here? The family member has already passed, but you cant tell them that on the phone!) He started to tell me how to get to the hospital, but I told him that I could not do that right now. I told him that my boy needed prayers and I had to go so I could call my Pastor and get a prayer chain started! Amandas aunt told me things didnt look good, Dylan had a head injury and was going to surgery. She told me that I needed to tell him I loved him! Oh God! Was it that bad!? Was this going to be the last thing he heard!? Was this going to be the last time I got to tell him that!? Please God, let him live until I can get there! I want to see my Boy one last time! Kaylas principal brought her home. Gordon got someone to take over his class and he headed home. My SIL took me and Kayla to meet him. And we got on our way for the longest trip I have ever been on in my life!! (This trip seemed even longer than my road trip to Texas earlier that year!) In the meantime, I had called my dad, sister and brother to tell them what had happened. My mom was at Walmart. I had just talked to her earlier. I told dad he needed to get in touch with her and get her home, but he couldnt tell her why. Dylan is her first grandchild and only grandson. She doesnt love him any more than the rest, but she had been wanting to go see him. Thats one reason why we had planned the trip for that Saturday. Plus, she doesnt do well in these situations and I didnt want her to have a heart attack. On the way to the hospital, I had texted Amanda to see if she or her aunt knew anything else. They didnt. With the HIPPA laws, the hospital could not tell them anything because they werent family. With about an hour and a half to go, I decided to call the hospital and see what I could find out. Maybe they wouldnt tell me anything, but maybe they would. As grace would have it, the operator told me that he was in the Neuro ICU, and she connected me. I talked to the nurse taking care of him and found out that his surgery was successful, his vitals were stable, but he was still in critical condition. It was a touch and go situation, but God had saved my Boy!! When we arrived in the ICU waiting area around 730pm, it was packed. There were people sitting, standing and leaning. I remember thinking, they must have a huge ICU to have this many patients. But as I walked in, I realized, most of these people were there for Dylan! They cared about him and were waiting to see how he was doing! And most of them had been there since 3pm or so, not knowing anything, because they were not family, but were waiting for me to get there. Wow! My Boy sure was loved by all these people that I did not even know!! When I got there, I found Amanda. She had already been talking to the chaplain. He came and got us both and took us back to see Dylan. As a nurse, I have seen the ICU scene before, but a mom is NEVER prepared to see one of her children in that bed! Dylan was lying there, hooked up to every machine imaginable. He had several IVs, a tube down his mouth to his stomach, blood pressure monitor, pulse ox machine, a ventilator tube down his throat, a heart monitor, a tube in his head to measure brain pressure, a temperature monitor across his forehead, and probably a few other things. His face, arms, hands, and legs were swollen. He had scrapes and cuts everywhere. His head was shaved and there was a suture line from his forehead, down the middle to the back, over and around his ear, that was full of staples. The constant sound of beeps, alarms, and the breathing machine filled the silence. It was almost more than I could take. I felt, again, like I was going to pass out! But at least he was still with us! Thank You, Lord! The next few days and months were exhausting, to say the least, but we were constantly surrounded by family and friends. As time went on, people returned their normal life. The calls and visits decreased, but the prayers continued. The last year has had its ups and its downs, but God has never left our side. Now, for the current picture. Dylan has his own room and bathroom in the basement of our home. He breathes on his own, through his nose. He coughs up his own secretions. He regularly opens his eyes and focuses on people and things. He tracks with his eyes. He startles when there is a loud noise, a sudden movement or something cold spills on him. He moves all 4 extremities on his own. He moans and grunts when he is being talked to. He yawns. He sometimes turns his head toward sound. He stretches out. He moves his mouth around when he is asked a question. He usually requires no oxygen. The only machines that are required are the humidifier, suction, and the feeding pump. The usual sounds that fill the room (along with our voices) are Dylans coughing, sighing, grunting and moaning. The cuts and scrapes are now faint scars. His curly hair covers the suture line scar. Dylan has his own private nurse all day, every day. (We only get 16 hours a day from the agency, but the other 8, he has me, Gordon, Nana or Amanda.) Life is good. We are blessed. Are we as far along as we had hoped? No. But are we farther along than the doctors told us we would EVER be? Yes! To God be ALL the glory! So while I may not have posted actual pictures (I dont want those first pictures to circulate the web), I hope I have created my Throwback Thursday in your minds. And not to make you sad or to upset you, but so you can truly see the difference a year can make...... especially when God, The Great Physician, is in control of the makeover!! I cant wait to see the transformation that is going to take place over this next year!!
Posted on: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 18:24:35 +0000
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