Saturday, July 11, 2009

Where do I begin. I guess with a thankful heart that my baby girl is alive and well. From there, let me explain about the most horrific thing that has ever happend to me. I was running some errands with the kids on Wednesday and made a stop at JoAnn fabrics. The kids were both in the shopping cart (Adri in her infant carrier/car seat). As we left the store, I walked to the handicapped ramp to get to the parking lot. Just as the sidewalk turned in to parking lot, I hit a grove in the pavement. Faster than I could blink, Adri's car seat was launched out of the cart. She landed first right on top of her head, bounced up, landed on the side, bounced again and then finally ended up face down in the parking lot. If you think that was bad to read and visualize, you can probably imagine how horrifying it was to watch. She was literally bouncing around like a super ball on the concrete. Adri was strapped in snuggly to her to car seat and I believe this saved her life. I immediately called my father in law to come pick me up so we could take her to the hospital. A man who had seen it all happen came out of one of the stores and asked if I was alright. This is when I lost it completely. I fell to the ground and just started crying hysterically. Some other women rushed out to help. One said she was a nurse so I handed her adri. One was just squeezing me as tight as she could to stop me from shaking and kept telling me it wasn't my fault and that I am not a bad mom (i am not sure if i was saying that i was or not. i just know i was a mess), and the other was keeping an eye on Anderson. To make a long story short-er, we ended up taking her to the ER. She was acting fine but the PA wanted to get a CT scan just to make sure there was no bleeding. The CT showed that she had 2 skull fractures on her right side. However, luckily, there was no depressions (sunk in spots) or bleeding. Adri needed to stay over night for observation. However, the hospital in Topeka didn't have the proper staffing to take care of her if a problem were to come up so she was transported to Chilren's Mercy in Kansas City. They were AWESOME there. My sister, bless her heart, stayed with me at the hospital b/c Lee was still in Wichita. she slept on some cushions on the floor :( we were released to go home the next day. Adri is ok. She has minimal swelling and bruising. We are soooooo lucky. I really expected to flip her over and find her dead or knocked out but she didn't have a mark on her. In fact had it not been for her cry that was a little "off" i wouldn't have thought there was a problem at all. I on the other hand am having a terrible time getting over the incident. I just keep seeing it happen over and over again in my head. I know time will heal me, but it is all pretty raw right now. We were able to snap a few shots of Adri. as you can see, she is doing ok.


Sleeping soundly at Children's Mercy after a long day


Chewing on the insurance card at the ER.


Getting ready to take her first ambulance ride.

7 comments:

Elizabeth H. said...

Laura, I am SO sorry that happened! What a blessing that she is okay! I will pray for both of you to have rest from it all - I am so sorry, but so thankful she is okay!!! Nothing is more traumatizing than something like that happening to your child. The Lord was watching over her that day (and everyday)!

Sharon said...

I am so sorry you had to go through this but it definitely was NOT your fault. So many things can happen that are out of our control. I hope you can heal quickly from the trauma and not beat yourself up about it. She is so young and will never remember that it happened. My prayers are with you and I'm so thankful she is perfectly healthy!

-Sharon

Jenny said...

Glad you're both okay!

Jennifer said...

I am SO glad to hear that everyone is OK! Sending lots of hugs your way!!!

Natalie said...

Laura, my thoughts are with you and sweet Adri. You are such an amazing mom. Don't beat yourself up... this could have happened to anyone.

So happy to hear she is okay... keep us updated!

Sara A. said...

Laura, how is Adri doing? I can't even imagine what you went through!!! Since it sounds like everything is just fine with Adri, I think I feel worse for you! I can only imagine sobbing/freaking out at the scene. This was soooo not your fault and you are the best mom ever! Hope that you guys are all okay!!!

Kate said...

Oh my gosh Laura!! I can't even imagine!! How scary! I am so so glad that she is okay. Sometimes the lasting impact on YOU is worse though. Glad you were taken care of well...Children's Mercy is the best! Hugs to Adri and to YOU most of all!