Back when I was 16, I got into a fight with a motorcycle doing about 40... I lost.
This morning, my son decided to "one up" Dad and picked a fight with a GMC pickup... He didn't fare any better than I did.
Thank the Lord, no head or spinal trauma. He's pretty busted up, taking all the damage on his right side. His arm is broken up near the shoulder, his pelvis is broken in two places, and he "might" have a broken kneecap. He also has a small laceration on his kidney, but the doctor said it should heal on its own just fine.
Needless to say, he won't be playing the drums for a while, and trying out for volleyball in a couple of weeks isn't in the cards either.
He's in ICU tonight, and if things go well, he'll be moved to a regular room in the morning. I'm going to be very spotty on posting for the next few days at least, so I wanted to let you know ahead of time that I'm not snubbing anyone.
Gonna go try to sleep now... It's a strange feeling. I'm physically and emotionally exhausted, and I've got 40 gallons of adrenaline running through me at the same time.
Now if they'd only let me "borrow" some of my son's morphine, I'd be all set... LOL
Cory, that’s so frightening. He sounds like a strong kid and he’ll be OK.
Listen, don’t forget to eat something. Seriously.
I spent more than a few sleepless nights in the hospital next to one or the other of our daredevil boys over the years. It’s easy to forget to take care of yourself. One night I was watching over son #2 in recovery after surgery, and the next thing I knew I was seeing stars and two nurses were carrying me over to a cot. I’d completely forgotten to eat or drink since long before I carried him into the emergency room the day before. And all that adrenaline didn't help.
I passed out standing up. Fortunately, I landed on my thick head. The nurses get really mad when you come in a visitor and wind up an extra patient. So while you're taking care of the family, skip the morphine and munch on a Twinkie or something.
If you need to talk, vent, rant, rave....or anything...give me a call...if you need either home or cell numbers let me know and I will leave you a message on your phone....I think you have both numbers.
I'm sorry to hear of your son's accident. I agree with the previous poster, make sure you take care of you also! He is one very lucky man by the sounds of it....
Cory, if you need us, you have our numbers. I like what Smrsh said. Take care of yourself. Think of it as another one of life's fights, then you'll know what to do.
Sorry Cory, that is a parents worse nightmare. My son was hit by a car while riding his bike when he was 10. It was the worse phone call i recieved in my life, so i know how you feel , but i am glad to hear that your son will be ok. Take care of yourself so that you can take care of him while he is healing.
Kathy
I'm so sad this has happened. I know how stressful the thought of losing a child can be, I know because I saw it on my dad's face while I was in the hospital and with the way he took care of me when I got out for 2 months, it didn't take much to see how he and my mother cared. My mother said she's never seen my dad that way.
Anyway, hang in there and I'll say a prayer for you son.
Charlie
This message has been edited by charlie288 on Jan 25, 2007 11:04 AM
So sorry to hear about your son. As RW said though, he survived. That's "it". Everything else can be dealt with. My youngest son once spent 20 days in ICU so I understand the feelings. You and your family will be in my prayers.
Cory, so sorry to hear about your son. I wish him all the best for a good recovery -- and for you to be able to relax at some point soon and get some good rest yourself.
Bottom line.. If my son was 21, I'd be flying him to Vegas right now. He's incredibly lucky.
The laceration on his kidney is slight, and should heal up fine. There was some concern this morning, as his blood count had dropped, but they ran more tests this afternoon and it was back up. The breaks on his pelvis are in non-critical, non-weight bearing areas. The leg injury is a small bone chip at the top of his fibula, barely worth mentioning.
The most serious injury is the break to his arm. It's high up towards the shoulder, so high in fact that it looks like he's going to be able to not have a cast put on it. It will be in a sling. If this evening goes well, they will most likely get him up tomorrow and have him start walking a bit!
They're going to continue to keep him in ICU, just in case. I don't mind, you seem to get better care in ICU anyways.
Considering he was hit by a GMC pickup doing 30 mph (according to the EMT report), his lack of serious injury is nothing short of miraculous... His Gaurdian Angels earned their keep for certain!
I'll keep you posted,
Cory
PS: Those people in ICU are just no fun... I even tried playing the "blindie card" to the hilt, and they STILL wouldn't give me a Valium!
Judging from the injuries, he was walking and got hit on the right side or he was a passenger in a car that was t-boned. But since the GMC's speed was 30 mph, I'd say he was walking. Just my professional guesstimate. The good thing, he is alive and recovering well.
Jordan
Bitter, but better.
This message has been edited by firemandown on Jan 26, 2007 6:52 PM
My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family...I hope that your son has a speedy recovery. Hanging around the hospital is not fun...so keep your son smiling as you tell him about your escapades with a red dress,... pink hat...I am sure that there are many more fun things to share as you pass time. and thank God that he is going to be OK.
Pat
Time is precious, but truth is more precious than time.
This morning, we arrived to find that my son's blood count was back down.
However, we also found out they were drawing the blood through the IV, so they wanted to draw some directly from the vein to be sure. When they did that, his blood count was normal, as are his vital signs. He's eating and in good spirits, although he's still in quite a bit of pain. Percosets are becoming his best friend...
They took him out of ICU and put him in a regular room. He was able to stand
(with help) and took a couple of small steps. He reported very little pain in
his hip, but that he felt very weak, which we explained was normal, given the
trauma and the fact that he's been flat on his back for a couple of days.
Basically, all that's left is for him to get with the Physical Therapy people
so they can do their evaluation, make recommendations on how mobile he can
be, for how long, etc.
Think about it... This skinny kid gets hit by a freaking TRUCK on a
Wednesday, and he'll most likely be sleeping in his own bed by Sunday. My friends, this is nothing short of a miracle. He still has a lot of recovering to do, and I'll be playing nursemaid for a few weeks, but considering the event, this is MUCH better than we could ever have hoped for or expected.
I thank each and every one of you for your thoughts, prayers, emails, phone
calls, etc. Now that my stress level has come down a bit, I'm looking forward
to a good night's rest.... AFTER I crack open a celebratory Sam Adams and toast all of you...
LOL Jordan, I started smoking when I was 8, which pre-dates my training by 4 years...
I had an ongoing fun debate with my instructor. He used to tell me that part of Black Belt training was endurance training, so I should be smoking. My reply to him was, "Well, if I'm a Black Belt, why do I need endurance? Shouldn't I be able to take someone out in a couple of seconds?"
I look at it this way... I don't drink to excess, I don't do drugs, and I don't beat my W or kids.... AND I'm a great cook and do laundry. If I didn't smoke, I'd be perfect.
Can't have that now, can we? LOL
My W and I arrived at the hospital this morning to find my son sitting up in the recliner, eating breakfast and watching Sportscenter. He had a total of about 20 visitors over the course of the day. It took a lot out of him, but it definately bucked him up in a big way. By 8 pm, he was ready for bed, so we left him to get a good night's rest.
The PT people will meet with him again tomorrow and get him up and moving. They should be taking out his catheter tonight, so everything is looking great. We're hoping to have him home on Monday.
Jean, in the neighborhood I grew up in, you did everything a bit early. I got into my first fight when I was 4 and witnessed my first stabbing at 6. Smoked my first cigarette at 8 and my first joint at 10 or 11, somewhere in that timeframe. It was just the way of my world back then....
Jordan, my cigarettes are menthol, so I can sniff them out no matter where they're hidden...
FINALLY saw an orthopedic surgeon today! Only 4 days after the accident, not too bad (he said, sarcastically). Anyways, he wants my son to stay in the hospital until about Wednesday. Not that there's anything wrong, he just wants to be sure he's as stable as possible on his leg before going home.
My boy doesn't mind. He's in a private room, has a TV with cable and DVD player, a boom box, daily access to a laptop, room service.... AND they give him drugs.
If everything goes well, he'll be coming home today!
He was able to walk a few times yesterday with a crutch, plus, he ate his first full meal since before the accident. Those that have met him know that he doesn't exactly have a lot of weight to spare, and we were getting concerned that his appetite hadn't returned.
I bribed him yesterday. I told him that if he eats and gets more stable on that crutch so he can get out of the hospital, I'll be sure he gets to his Youth Group meeting tonight.
Considering his girfriend is also in Youth Group, it's a double incentive..
