Helmets! We All Need Helmets!

( I keep going back and forth on the title of this post.  Torn on whether to put it as one of my WTF?! posts or something else because, let me assure you, "WTF" was muttered many a times during all of this.  Many many a times.) 

As if Ethan's injury wasn't enough, Wes' dad fell off the roof 2 days ago (or ladder or something; we probably will never know because he doesn't remember anything) and was knocked unconscious.  Thankfully Marcia was home and called 911.  He was laying on the ground, out, not moving, fingers bent backward.  Not good. 

All he kept talking about was the gutter and the fact that the gutter is bent.  Even the paramedics were getting a bit annoyed.  "Yes, Karl, the gutter IS bent."  (It got bent during the accident and was the first thing he saw when he woke up on the ground)

He was taken by ambulance to FMH where we quickly learned that he, too, like Ethan, had sub-cranial bleeding.  Are you kidding me?!  5 days.  5 DAYS after going through all of this with Ethan, we were right back where we started with Karl.  And like Ethan, he was medivac-ed to Anchorage to see the neurosurgeon. 

Seriously, you can't even make this stuff up. 

But thankfully, his brain contusion was small and did not have any increased pressure so the doctors just wanted to monitor him for 24 hours to make sure the bleeding would not continue.

The funny part about it is that a bunch of our friends were still in Anchorage with Ethan so Karl & Marcia had quite the welcoming party.  It was really nice for Wes and I to know that they were not down there alone but some of the pictures seem like they were having a little too much fun. 

But then again, misery does love company. . .

Ethan & Our 10th

Saturday was our 10th wedding anniversary and although the day started out great with our usual football watch party and Nebraska kicking off their season with a win over Chattanooga State (whoop whoop), it ended on a much different note. At about 5:00 that evening we got a call from our buddy Sonny saying they had an accident and Ethan was hurt badly. The words "hit a tree," "bleeding from the brain", and "ER" is about all I remember from the call.

A few of our friends had borrowed our boat for the day to go fishing up on the Richardson Clear Water but unfortunately things did not go as planned.  Story has it, they were having a great time, the weather was beautiful, the fishing not so beautiful, but they were still having a blast being out on the river until they went to move fishing spots and a sandwich baggy that was swirling around on the bow, caught wind and flew back the length of the boat.  Everyone turned to watch it land, including the driver, and when he turned back around he was 2-3 feet too far to the left.  They were heading right for a big spruce tree leaning over the water.  Harry tried to do an evasive maneuver but the super narrow river and downstream current were too much and they crashed into the tree, ejecting Ethan from the back of the boat where he had been sitting.

Once they realized Ethan was missing, they whipped the boat around and fished him out of the freezing spring fed water about 40 yards back.  Ethan was knocked unconscious but came to when they got to him.  Everyone knew it wasn't good and that time was not on there side at this point so after grabbing dry clothes and a blanket for Ethan at Harry's cabin, they high tailed it out of there and back to the landing.  Ethan was talking and joking but confused on what had happened.  His left eye was a ginormous purple plum and he was complaining about his shoulder.  They sped back to Fairbanks and straight to FMH where it was quickly determined that he had bleeding on his brain with increased pressure and a collapsed lung.  They re inflated his lung and medivac-ed him to Anchorage within the hour. 

He underwent surgery that night to remove a blood clot from behind his eye, remove part of his skull to release the pressure on his brain, insert a drain to drain the blood, and insert 4 metal plates to set all the skull fractures.  He responded well to the surgery but they wanted to wait 6 hours before trying to wake him up to see how he responded.

Around 9:45 the following morning, they did just that but he was very agitated and running a fever so they put him back under.  Over the next 3 days, they tried this a number of times, each with Ethan being very agitated and trying to pull the tube out of his throat.  One of the times it took 3 people to hold him down until they could knock him back out.  He is definitely a fighter. 

By the fourth day, they concluded that he was finally breathing 100% on his own, so they removed the ventilator and THEN tried to wake him up.  Things went much smoother.  He was awake and asking questions. 

Then miraculously, on the 8th day, he was released from the hospital.  Released!  I still can't believe it.  He still has a long road in front of him but is predicted to make a full recovery.  He is very sore and tired, is having trouble with the vision in his left eye, needs to have shoulder surgery, but is home and doing remarkably well. 

 And although I would much rather remember our 10th anniversary for different, happier reasons, I am extremely thankful that Ethan is ok and very thankful to have such a wonderful husband in my life. 

So here's to many many more.....for ALL of us. 

Bo's First Day of Kindergarten

It's hard to believe but Bo is now a Kindergartner. I don't know if I should be excited or sad. Part of me loves watching him grow and explore and try new things but the other part wants him to stay little and cuddly and my little Bo-bo forever. Where did the last 5 years go? (Oh that's right, it got flushed into a hazy fog of 2 more babies, not much sleep and a whirlwind of everyday life. Duh!) Yesterday was his first day and it went well. He was excited about the idea of school, the new clothes, the new lunch box, super cool "golden" folder. . .but this eagerness quickly faded when it came time to me having to leave him in the classroom. He did not want me to leave and immediately reclused into himself, hunching down over his paper, crayon in hand, his head practically touching the table, mentally blocking out everyone else around. It broke my heart. But I knew he would be fine. His teacher, Mrs. Todd, is super nice and his table mate, Jacob, seemed like a very nice kid so with a wave and one last kiss I was gone.

The nice thing about Kindergarten in Fairbanks is that they ease the kids in slowly. First of all they start a week after all the other grades and then once they do start, they only go for 2.5 hours the first two days. It's great. Plus because the Kindergarten classes are flex-day, each classroom has a morning group of kids (8:30-1:00) and an afternoon group of kids (10:30-3:00) with them all overlapping a few hours in the middle. But for these first two days of school, the two groups do not overlap at all, so the class size is small (about 10 kids). Bo went 12:30-3:00 and it worked out great. It was a nice transition. He got to play at home all morning, eat lunch here and then go in for a few hours in the afternoon. Not bad.

And amazingly enough, when I picked him up yesterday, he said it was, "good"! :)

However, this morning when it came time to get ready for school, he said, "What? I have to go again?!"

Opa & Nana's Visit

It may have been a quick 5 days but it was a fun 5 days.  I just wish it could have been longer.  In true grandparent form, they came with presents.  And this time it was Duplo Lego's.  The boys' favorite.  They played with them every day Opa and Nana were here and have honestly played with them every day since.

Dad has always been really great with the boys and this trip was no different.  He REALLY bonded with them.  I'm sure some of it is has to do with the fact that the boys are older but a lot of it comes down to the fact that Opa is big and cuddly and uber patient.    

Dad/Opa also made a couple of loaves of Opa-bread while he was here which was awesome.  I probably ate more bread in the last week than I have in the last 2 months.  Thanks Dad.

It was cool and rainy for the majority of the time they were here and while it was a nice break from the hottest summer on record they were having in Texas, it was annoying for me.  So when the sun poke through one day, we decided to take advantage and head up river for the afternoon. 

 Thankfully the sun came out again on their last day here.  We played outside, walked around downtown, went to the Monday night market and really enjoyed the day.  It was a great way to end their visit, even though I didn't want it to end at all.   



Movie Night

Wes & Grandpa were out of town fishing so I invited Grandma over for movie night with the boys. It was Sam's turn to pick so we all snuggled up to wach MegaMind with yummies. Popcorn for Sam, Max & Grandma and ice cream for Bo. Fun night.

Golden Days Parade 2011

Bo, Max & Sam with GrandmaTighe, Sam, Grandma, Max, Bo & Devon
Sam
Tighe, Sam, Max, Bo & Devon

Petting Pedro's donkey

Devon, Arron, Sam, Tighe & Bo

Garage Door Roulette

Really?!? What part of hanging on to a garage door and riding it all the way to the top while dangling over concrete even seems like a good idea? But just in case, while we're at it, why not let an almost 2 year old be in control of the button because Lord knows he's not trigger happy.

Up. Down. Up. Down. Up. Down.

Sounds perfectly logical to me.

Up. Down. Up. Down. Up. . . .Up. . .Up. Down. Up. Down. Up . . .

WWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Oh crap!

A mother knows this cry. It is not the "I'm overtired cry" or the "I'm spoiled and I want my way" cry or the "I'm frustrated" cry or even the "I don't want you to leave" cry. It is the cry of pain. The one cry that makes you jump up out of your chair or leave dinner bubbling over on the stove because you know it is not good and it is real.

Down. Up. Down. Up. Max! Seriously. Stop!!

And it was not good and it was real. Sam fell from the top onto the concrete, barefoot, and was grabbing his left foot. He could not put weight on it and was hysterical. His lips were shivering and he kept saying he was cold.

Double crap!

Injury and possible shock. . . that's not good.

But thankfully it did not take long to calm him down. A lot of hugging and reassuring goes a long way and before long he was up trying to walk on it. Foot turned out, toes pointing out to the side, heel only on the ground, hobbling pretty bad, but he was walking.

Phew!

So I decided to not rush in for x-rays but just watch him and see how it was. As much as I love sitting around a waiting room for hours on end, I didn't want to go to the ER if we didn't have to so motrin and cuddle time was what I prescribed. But by the following afternoon he still was not walking well, the swelling was getting worse, and I decided it was time to go have it checked.

1 ER trip, 1 very well behaved boy, many purple surgical glove balloons, and 4 hours later, his foot was not broken. They gave us an ace bandage and suggested he wear his shoe as much as possible to support and protect the foot. If in 1 week it was still sore, to follow up with our primary care doctor.

So 1 sore and swollen foot, 1 miserable boy, 1 more doctor visit, and 1 week later, his foot still is not broken.

More motrin, more bandages, and more shoes.

And yet people seem to look at me strangely when they see my boys riding bikes without helmets? Really? Screw that!! They've never hurt themselves on their bikes. If anything they should wear them at home. Eat breakfast . . .Check. Get dressed . . .Check. Brush Teeth . . .Check. Put on helmet . . .Check. Ride garage door . . .UnCheck!