1 week (Alli update 10-16-2008)

Well, it's been one week today since the accident. Life feels a lot different than it did a week ago...
Alli had a good day today, although she sounds a little chugged up. She'a on allergy medicine right now because they don' t want her to sneeze or blow her nose because of the pressure it would cause in her head. So I'm a little puzzled about the coughing and throat clearing today. I hope there's nothing going on with that fractured rib. She has complained of her side some.
We have noticed Alli's stuttering a bit, which she didn't do before. She also keeps talking about things that haven't happened and is so insistent that it did. She's also been talking about things from the summer like they happened a few minutes ago. Bless her, she loves to talk (I can't imagine where she gets that from!)
She misses school, and her "K". She's asked me to take her and when I said we can't go to school until the dr. says it's okay, she asked me to go run outside with her. Bless her, it's not easy for her to take it easy. If you know Alli, you can imagine what it's like trying to keep her settled all day. With the meds in her, she feels like doing more than she really should at this point.
So here's to making it through week one! A lot of prayers went in to getting us this far. And I sincerely thank you all for all you have done through prayer and supplication before the Lord. Thank you for loving our family and thank you for loving on us during this time. Keep praying us through recovery, and hopefully we'll be able to visit with some of you soon.
2 Samuel 22:7 "In my distress I called upon the Lord, Yes I cried to my God; And from His temple He heard my voice, And my cry for help came into His ears."
For I have seen the Hand of the Lord move upon His people in a Mighty way. And I will forever Glorify His Name for the things He hath done. People want to ask why...why? This accident caused people from NY to FL to humbly come before His Throne in one accord, and today we in one accord Rejoice in His Name for the showers of Blessings He has poured upon this precious little one in saving her life. God received Glory. That's enough reason for me...This is my story...

Settling in... (Alli update 10-15-08)

I suppose one could say we're settling in...the hair washing yesterday went quite lovely (pretend you hear sarcasm in my voice). Really, it did go as well as could be expected. The fact that I was in tears didn't help her any. But once Alli's hair was all wet and stuck to her head, you could really get a good visual of the injury. So much bruising, and that whole right side of her head is larger than the left. But we perservered and made it out okay.

Alli kind of burned out around six last night. That was when the pain set in, so we medicated her and she went right off to sleep (after a little protesting) for the rest of the night.

Today went better. I sent everyone else back to school (thanks D for the transport!) in efforts to have a more settled morning. And it was. We tried to do quiet things today like coloring and she watched as I rearranged in order to fit Alli's bed in our room for a while.

My sweet E brought the girls home and Alli kept scaring us both as she was happy to see everyone and had a little burst of energy. It's 6 now, and she's starting to settle in Daddy's chair with a blanket. I expect she'll be out for the count any minute now.

We've watched the clock more closely today to not allow a lapse in meds, hoping this will help her pain. So far, it seems to have helped.

Thanks again for everyone's prayers, calls, emails, and fun things sent home with my girls. You all are so precious and we are so Blessed to be surrounded by such prayer warriors. Please continue to pray as we recover here at home. Now our challenge is keeping her from over doing it because the meds make her feel like doing more than she should.

I think I'm driving everyone nuts with my "watch out"s, "careful"s, "ooh baby"s, etc. I'm considering just wrapping the family in bubble wrap!

Love and Blessings to you all!

The quiet game (Alli update 10-14-2008)

Well, we're back! Getting back to town felt so good. When we picked up our older girls on the way in, our sweet baby wouldn't be satisfied until she got out for a minute to hug her sisters and go into E's house. So we strapped her helmet on, and went in to say hi and potty. She was delighted. But on the way home, it became evident that she had been overstimulated, and so started the pain and crying. Thankfully, it didn't last too long after getting some meds in her. Last night she rested well, in my arms.
This morning she slept in late(10:40)and because she felt so well, I had to keep reminding her to be settled, and reminding everyone else not to be loud. If she gets too excited, it will raise her blood pressure and could cause her bleeding to return. Also, if she's overstimulated, it could cause her to regress. But knowing her, I'm sure there's no interest in the quiet game.
Alli enjoyed doing markers and a movie with her sisters until about 1:50 when her head pain returned. So lunch was spent in my arms. She's been a bit moody, as we anticipated, but it's not easy for Bug to deal with. She doesn't understand that Alli's not meaning to be difficult.
We're about to go try the first bath and hairwash. Please pray for me, that I'll do it correctly without causing any pain.

Home James! (Alli update 10-13-2008)

Well, as expected, Alli kind of "crashed and burned" after her energy spurt yesterday. She got a little off balance, bumped into something and then cried for a really long time.
This morning things are looking good, and the plan is to go home shortly. They're going to look at her ears before they let us go (she's complained of them bothering her this morning). Just a bit ago, she complained of her side for the first time (remember she has a fractured rib).
So now we're cuddled on what "they" call a couch, watching Clifford and eating grapes. The servants with the fans should be showing up any minute now! (If you don't get tht joke, think ancient Egypt)
So as long as the "ear interview" doesn't show anything, we'll be heading back to clean air today.
Forgive all my corny jokes, but I'm just bubbling over with Praise to My Father for this Glorious work He has done in our sweet baby to save her life.
Love you guys! Keep praying for a full recovery!

On this the Lord's Day (Alli update 10-12-08)

Alli had a hard night. There was an episode where they were trying to make her walk which ended in an hour's worth of crying and head pain afterwards. She did not rest well last night. We were walking the halls at 2:30 this morning and finally settled her by the fish tank. The surgeons came by and let us know she could not go home today because there was still some ground to cover with eating, mobility, etc. to be sure we'd be okay at home.
This morning about the time you all were getting settled in at church, God heard the prayers you all lifted up in your churches from NY to FL and began an amazing work in Alli. She sat up in the bed, asked for Bug, then said we needed to get to church (I had not even told her it was Sunday yet). She then let us know she was hungry (praise the Lord!). This was followed by the words we had been waiting to hear since Thur.- I love you! Yes! Yes! Her speech was returning!
Well folks, that was the beginning of a beautiful Lord's day. Alli has literally tallked our ears off all day long. I almost worried that her play button was stuck!
The nurses (quick plug for Charmain who sat by her bedside talking with us last night whose granddaughter walked this same road)arranged for Alli to have our traditional Sunday morning breakfast- grits (although we were missing Daddy's biscuits). Alli ate so well and has kept everything down. This has been our first full day without vomitting. We've walked around our floor a little and she even played a computer game in the children's room here.
Since Thur, the longest she had been awake was 1 1/2 - 2 hrs. Today she's been up since church time and is still up, in my my lap singing VBS songs (no nap).
So as you can see, today has been nothing short of God's Grace abounding on one of His children.
We hope to go home tomorrow to finish recovery. She'll have to wear a helmet if we're outside or on concrete floors for a little while, and the head pain is expected to last for a while too as her fractures begin to heal. They'll continue to follow up with her until they're sure the fractures are healing in the right direction.
Socially, we'll have some baby steps to take as she introverts whenever it's anyone other than me & her Daddy. The drs have asked us to only have a few people around her at a time for very short visits because she could regress if over stimulated. He's also asked that we avoid anything that could raise her blood pressure until her follow up. This may get interesting if she continues with this energy spurt she's had today.
Please pray for us that we'd do everything right when we go home and not sustain any further injury. Also please pray for God's providence as it looks like I'll be out of work for a while. Pray for my students as they adjust to their sub and pray blessings for my sub (thank you C!) as she takes the reigns for a while.
Continue to remember my 3 older girls while we're away. They have truly been heroes in this situation. I am so blessed.
Also, one last prayer request. My husband and I have been talking about how hard it's going to be going back into the ginhouse and picking back up our work to finish the house without being haunted by those images and living in fear of someone getting hurt again. This will especially be a real struggle for me. As much love as I have for that house and the precious memories created up until Thur., right now I don't even want to see it.
Pray for Joshua and I to have strength to walk forward and grace to go as slow as Alli needs without frustration.
I love you guys! We'll update again tomorrow.
P.S. At supper Alli wanted to pray for Nanny. How precious is that for her to think of others during her pain.

God things (Alli update 10-11-08)

For anyone who doesn't know, our sweet little girl was in an accident Thur night. She fell from the 2nd story balcony and landed about 10 feet below. She was not awake when we got to her and we thought the worst. My husband cradled her limp body and blew into her mouth and a soft cry came from within her. We realized we had a chance and raced for the truck. The 9-1-1 operator instructed us to drive toward ER and the ambulance would meet us enroute.
Our 9-1-1 operator, Kim, whose name I will never forget, was blessed from above with each word she spoke. She prayed us through the horror we were living and now holds a special place in my heart forever. Our ambulance guys inserted her IV and she screamed. I shouted, "Thank you God, thank you she can feel it!" They may or may not have thought I was nuts.
ER was very emotional. We very quickly had so many praying people surrounding us that they got us a family room. The first report, vitals good. The second, one fractured rib. Still, not as bad as I expected. Next report, fractured skull...scary. They decided to send us to the Children's Hospital.
That drive seemed longer than it ever has to that area, but it gave me a good opportunity to talk to God, and my husband about what we'd just lived through. I was immediately filled with tons of God Moments from the night. I want to share some with you so we together can Glorify God.

• Hannah saw Alli fall and immediately got help.
• Hannah didn't panic and fall after her.
• None of us fell rushing to her.
• We heard her voice.
• We didn't wreck driving to meet the ambulance.
• Alli called my name.
• Alli could feel them stick her.
• Alli's vitals were good.

And so we arrived at the Children's Hospital. Another God Moment. They had removed the braces because her tests showed no spinal cord damage. So we settled in the room as best we could. She had been given a bit of morphine and did not rest well from the pain.

Friday she was either asleep, awake crying of pain, or vomitting. It took a while to get that under control, and at times now it can still be tough. We had more tests that showed she actual had a double skull fracture in a T formation and had separated some. She also had a hemotoma at that site. Friday evening they allowed me to hold her for the first time. What a blessed experience that was. That night she had a time where she was awake for about 2 hrs. and talked with us some. She seemed okay, but some of her speech was a little off. Then she rested well for the first time.

Today has been busy. More testing, a first out of bed to potty. She walked a few steps but was not happy about it at all. She cried for a very long time afterwards. We had some visitors, which was a little overwhelming for her. However, she very much enjoyed the sentiments of love they left behind.

Then this afternnon we received Blessed news. Recent testing showed the hemotoma had shrank so small they couldn't really tell where it was. There had been no more cranial separation. Provided she could perk up and keep something solid down, she may get to travel home tomorrow to continue recovery there.

We've kept down a popsickle, 2 hershey kisses, a Sprite, and some apple juice. And what fun, she's currently lathering her lips in her much loved "lip care" cuddled beside me as I type this update.

I haven't given every detail, like the prayers I could specifically feel pouring over us, like Leah in ER who spoke to my Spirit, like Tim the chaplain who nursed our whole family in ER, like Evie our nurse here who's much like an old friend of mine I don't get to see anymore, like the goodies from L.E. that have kept my sugar from dropping, or the cards from little children at my school who gathered together and called out her name in prayer, like my nephews who instead of sleeping were on their knees calling out on our behalf, like my sweet Fl friend who called just to say I love you (then we had to hang up b/c our sobbing prevented us from saying much else), like our parents, siblings, and my dear E who are caring for our other girls, like the swarm of calls and emails from church and "the chicken people".

My God is so great, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing My God cannot do.

My Saviour lives, and because of Him, so does my baby. This is my valley, but just like the view from the hospital windows, the mountains I can see. And the God of the mountain is still God in the valley. When things go wrong, He'll make it right. And the God of the good times, is still God in the bad times. The God of the day, is still God in the night. (Courtesy of the McKammeys)

I'll continue to update daily as we continue here and also when we get home and continue to recover there. They say her headaches will probably continue for some time, as well as the trouble with noise, lights, and over stimulating. But we can handle any trial because I am His and He is mine.

Update you tomorrow! We love you all more than you'd ever know! Keep praying! (Forgive any typos, we're pretty tired)

Fond Fridays

Yes, Fond Fridays.

One of my sweeties is a part of weekly blog fun like Try It Tuesdays, Works for me Wed, and (something I can't remember) Thursdays. Well, now I'm all inspired, forgive the swelled head.
Today marks our first Fond Fridays. I'm a teacher, and there's always something said along the way each week that really ingraves itself in my brain. So Fond Fridays are all about recalling those blooper moments that are forever ingraved on your brain. What's yours?
Before I begin, we'll notice our Fond Fridays pic, used without permission (haha. hey, my camera, my picture.) You'll notice the blunder if you're from the South. Despite the Lutheran influence that was amongst us, we were NOT at a bar. Someone please remember this so that when I'm gone and our grandchildren find this picture, my reputation won't be mared. And if it is, blame my lutheran friend! (You know I love you and have to give you grief!)
But anyway, on to Fond Fridays. Recalling those moments forever ingraved in your brain- funny, sad, happy, joyous, or just odd- but for one reason or another, forever ingraved.
My sweet friend who I now teach beside is great for me. We both love your one liners. Here's a fine true example from just a few weeks ago. "Welcome to The Rock." More must follow. "Here at The Rock, we only have 3 rules. Rule #1, obey all rules!" Now for those of you (who I'll pray for for missing this joy) who aren't Andy Griffith Show fans...this was a hilarious episode where Barney was head swelled because he had actual prisoners. So anywho (and yes I know I say who instead of how), it was one of those moments where it came into conversation. E started it. Really. But I did join in and together I think we did the rest of that scene! We're bursting into laughter and look over to find the other teachers looking on in bewilderment. Poor things. How sad to not know the real Barney.
One moment I recall in particular was the first few days of school and the kids were a bit rowdy, for lack of a better word. I let in on the whistle around my neck. I love my whistle. Everyone stops and stares as I call out, "Guys, guys! We are tooooo loud. Drop the decibles a bit." And then there was the ingraving moment. This sweet little hand slips up in the air quite calmly. "Yes dear, what is it?" Sweet little voice, "Mrs. Teacher, I'm a girl."
And just when you think you've heard all the lingo...#4 puts her hand up to her mouth and giggled into her hand. "What's so funny?" I asked. #4's response? "My hiney burped!"
So there's some of my most ingraved moments for Fond Fridays. And there'll be lots more. Come on over with your comments as we explore my ingravings, if you dare...