Monday, December 8, 2008

Tree... Kids... Concussion

Yep, you read correctly. Yesterday afternoon we were spending the afternoon at my parents house. My kids have discovered a tree in their backyard that is just big enough to be climbed. They have figured out how to hang baskets and such in the tree to make it their very own club house.
I have been waiting for the day when one of them would take the first fall and get hurt. Well, yesterday was the day. I had pictured this first fall from my accident prone child, Avery. And I had pictured this fall coming from a misstep and have a short fall to scare them. Well, that's not exactly how it went down.
They have been playing in this tree long enough to build up some confidence. So, yesterday, Morgan decided to "test out" a branch by swinging on it like a monkey. The branch was over 10 feet off the ground and definitely not large enough in diameter to hold up a 9 year old.
Cory and I were inside sitting on the couch and a friend of ours just happened to be standing by the back sliding doors. He was the eye witness to this branch breaking right off. He saw Morgan hit the ground and started yelling for Cory to come out.
We both hopped off the couch and went running. Cory scooped her up and brought her to the back porch while I told the other 2 kids to get down. Morgan was crying pretty hard and my initial thought was that something was broken. I started looking her over and having her move her arms and legs to check. Then I moved the hair out of her face and noticed the huge bump on her forehead.
At the same time as we were examining Morgan, Avery was inside with my mom and was crying uncontrollably. She also had witnessed the fall and she is the most sensitive of all my children when it comes to physical pain. So, my mom stayed inside to comfort her and calm her down.
We brought Morgan in and put an ice pack on her head and checked her pupils for dilation. Her eyes looked good and she really didn't have any bumps or bruises anywhere but her forehead and nose.
So, we researched concussions online and watched her carefully. She did get nauseous and vomit a couple of times. She also was in some pain and laid on the couch with me most of the day. We called our pediatrician and gave the details. He told me what to watch for and said she would most likely recover at home.
So, she slept in our room last night so that we could wake her up during the night and such. This morning she felt 90% better. In fact, she said she felt great except for a headache. I was expecting that much. We took her to the chiropractor to make sure she didn't suffer any whiplash and she has continued to improve throughout the day.
It was a scary day, but one that could've ended much worse. Thank you, Lord, for watching over my baby!

7 comments:

Valarie Daly said...

Wow. It's so hard to let them be "kids" and enjoy the outdoors. I'm glad she is doing fine. We had a couple incidents with Rachelle and concussions :-) go figure right?

Kelly said...

Poor girl! I hate it when my kids get hurt. Worst feeling ever! The head is the most scary, but is usually the most durable!! Glad she is okay!

Beth Whitehill said...

So glad your sweet girl is OK. No more monkies swinging in the tree!

Sherill said...

So glad Morgan is feeling better!

Andrea said...

Wow! I know that was scary!
Glad she is better.

Andrea

Flamingo said...

oh goodness! that could've been really bad! i'm so glad she's ok!

nate and liz said...

I'm so glad she is okay! It is such a scary thing when they fall! However, the Lord is good and His protective hand encircled her - Praise Him!
Love and blessings!
~liz