The night of Jackson’s injury Jay woke up at 3 a.m. with insane ear pain. So, he went to the ER and sure enough, his ear drum had burst. We had thought the drama with Jackson being in the ER with asthma right after I’d hit the deer with my van had been crazy. My van was still in the shop for Jackson’s injury and Jay’s busted ear drum. We packed a lot in in a small amount of time.
But, back to the concussion, the next day (1/27) we went to the pediatrician and learned a LOT more about concussions than I ever cared to know. First and foremost Jackson was very upset that tv was completely off limits. In summary I learned that for up to 3 weeks (and by the end of this ordeal we wished that it had only been 3 weeks) he could have no media (tv or video games), not read, not do any school work and not run or jump and see the pediatrician 2-3 times a week. Basically he needed NO mental stimulation of any kind and not much movement. For anyone who has ever known Jack, you know that this is basically asking the impossible. I can’t even tell you how many people heard these restrictions and asked if we’d looked into a medically induced coma.
The good news is that he was still smiling.
One thing that he could do is listen to books on cd. So, his sweet Nanny and Paw Paw bought him a portable cd player. And yes, here we are at target buying headphones. . .in pajamas and rain boots. Keeping Jackson still was quite a task, add that to a typical activity level 4 year old and super fussy 1 year old and I was feeling super stressed. Jackson and Baron kept trying to wrestle or play rough (as they always do) and it was keeping me on pins and needles. The doctor had said that if Jackson didn’t let his brain settle properly he could sustain long term brain damage. No pressure though. . .
By the 3rd day poor Jackson was swelling up like crazy.
My buddy didn’t even look like himself.
I know that we are so blessed to have this be a big deal to us and that other parents have to deal with so much more. . .but it was a little scary.
I posted on facebook about Jackson’s restrictions and some of the neighborhood kids came over to play with him. It meant a lot to him that Brendan, the kid who tackled him, came over to play monopoly with him. I was struggling with the fact that he had always picked on Jackson and never treated him kindly before this day.
Thankfully Baron and Lincoln did a good job of keeping the mood light. These little boys are so much fun!
And Jay spent a lot of time with Jackson after work which thrilled Jack.
His face started looking a little better.
His nasal bridge was still so swollen though.
My super sweet neighbor, Janie, brought us homemade cookies and an old school record player with a ton of records from her husbands childhood.
The kids loved listening to them and looking through the books. And since her husband is only 1 year older than me, I recognized many of his records and books from when I was a little girl.
Jack had to keep his stitches moist so the headband came in hand to keep his hair from sticking to his head.
My precious friend, Chloe (Caleb’s mom) came over one day with her 3 boys and Jackson was in heaven with so many activities.
Playing chess.
We did a few science experiments.
We put eggs in soda and in vinegar to see what happened.
My handsome tiny man. You’d never know that this kid was still getting up 4+ times a night. I have no idea how I even survived him not sleeping through the night for 21 months. . .
The boys made lots of bracelets with the rainbow loom.
And Jackson learned to write several Chinese characters.
Chloe loves Jackson and always makes his favorite sushi for him whenever we get together.
Happy guy writing notes for the Chinese New Year.
For our 9th anniversary we ordered pizza and got a fruit bouquet from edible arrangements. I was feeling very blessed to have a loving and supportive husband and 3 amazing kids to celebrate with that day.
This was definitely one of those “in the trenches” kind of times in our lives. And there’s nobody I’d rather be in the trenches with than Jay.
I’m not sure if it was the fact that I almost cried from fried nerves (begging the boys not to wrestle) every time I spoke to them or what, but my AMAZING in-laws came and picked up Baron. I was so conflicted about having him to to Beach City. I knew that he would have a fabulous time but I felt so guilty sending him away while Jackson was recovering. But, it was the absolute best thing that could have happened. With Baron having a blast with his sweet grandparents I had no concerns about Jackson playing or fighting too rough with anyone. There’s no wrestling or sibling rivalry between Jackson and Lincoln so physically, we were in the clear! When Jim and Charlotte picked up Baron the plan was for him to stay for 3 or 5 days when Jackson’s restrictions might be lifted. It’s probably good that I didn’t know on the front end how long he would be gone. I probably couldn’t have said goodbye.
We are so very blessed by so many wonderful friends and family. Jackson’s first care package arrived the day that Baron left. It was from Aunt Ashley!
Jackson spent lots of time working with the rainbow loom.
He also got an exciting care package from the sweet Hirst family.
Meanwhile Baron was having a blast and getting tons of love from Paw Paw and Nanny.
Jackson had to see the pediatrician twice a week and also had to see several other doctors. We had constant appointments. And when better for your car to die and need to be towed than when you are inundated with medical appointments?
I tried to distract the kids by baking cookies.
Jackson was obsessed with the Shrinky Dinks from Adrienne.
He was pretty excited to get a few of the stitches out.
And thankfully, sweet neighbor kids came to play and do crafts fairly often.
Jackson was constantly bored and I couldn’t blame him. Not being able to move or read or look at a screen really cancels out a lot. He was also having horrible headaches. He’d be ok for a bit and then have a debilitating headache. It was pretty heart breaking to see him so defeated and in pain.
He got a care package from Gaga, Jer and Grandmommy with lots of fun activities as well!
Jackson had been begging to go to Kerbey Lane for pancakes. Since he couldn’t do much we decided to try to lift his spirits with an outing.
Unfortunately the noise of the restaurant was way too much for him and he instantly had a horrible migraine. We had to immediately leave and he was hurting so badly that he didn’t eat for 2 days. The poor guy lost 7 pounds during the concussion ordeal.
Occasionally we let him go in the backyard for a few minutes but he had to stay on the porch. It was so hard to restrict him physically because he’s such a physical kid.
Thankfully we have a LOT of games.
Our church group had offered to bring us meals multiple times but I’d said no. It was manageable with only having the two boys to take care of. But the offers, calls, emails and text messages from friends and family were so uplifting and really made such an impression on us. God definitely used this time to teach us a lot and we felt so much gratitude for our healthy kids and also for the incredible support that we have from our friends in Austin in addition to our friends and family back home.
This is as far as I can get tonight. But it won’t be another 6 months until I post again, I promise!
No comments:
Post a Comment