New Year's Scare

Well, our 2011 started off with a bang - literally.

K and I were entertaining friends in the kitchen on New Year's Day when we heard a thump followed quickly by hysterical crying. While playing in the living room with our friends' daughter, EB apparently decided to use the backside of our couch as a monkey bar. Since our couch is placed right in the middle of our living room rather than against the wall, she fell headfirst onto the hardwood floor.

After some ice and a lot of comforting, EB seemed fine. A couple of hours after the incident, the scary part began. First she complained that her ear hurt. Since we were karaoking at that particular moment, we thought it was her way of saying our singing voices suck. When she got up and couldn't walk straight, though, we knew something was seriously wrong. Almost immediately after that, she threw up. We quickly threw on our coats, jumped in the car and rushed to Children's Hospital while our wonderful friends stayed behind and cleaned up the vomit that was sprayed all over the floor.


Once we arrived at the hospital, EB was whisked into an ER room. The scene was terrifying and surreal. Seeing a team of nurses, doctors and specialists swarm into the room with military precision and surround EB reinforced our worst fears of just how serious this injury might be.

One nurse was putting a brace around EB's neck and another was checking her vitals. Meanwhile, another nurse was painfully poking EB's tiny little arm with an IV needle, unable to find a vein. Off on the side, the doctor was drilling K with questions ("How did it happen?" "What time?" "Did you see it happen?") while other nurses briskly moved about, grabbing IV bags and filling out charts.


K looked ashen, I probably looked the same, and we were both petrified and confused. Poor EB was hysterically crying, covered in her own vomit and blood from the multiple pokings of her arm. It was heart breaking. During the few hours that we had to wait for her CT scan, all the "what-ifs" pounded in our heads: what if she'd sustained a terrible bran injury? What if her unsteady walk is permanent? What if, what if, what if. The possibilities scared us s*&tless.


Luckily her CT scan came back negative, and after two nights in the hospital for post-concussion observation, she was discharged.
 ........

The Aftermath

It's been five days since the accident, and EB has been steadily recovering and regaining her balance each day--K and I are very grateful and relieved. I wish I could say that she's become more careful, but she's as spazzy as ever, jumping and climbing whenever she gets a chance. I guess kids will be kids. For the first few nights, I became a super-paranoid mom, treating EB like a bubble-girl: running around the house clearing any potential obstacles out of the way, constantly on pins and needles, buzzing around EB non-stop. K was finally able to talk some sense into me-"Get a grip, woman!" Not exactly those words, but you get the idea.  

So, that was our New Year's weekend--enough chills and thrills to last me for the next few years.  I wish you all a SAFE 2011!