It Has Not Been Connor's Week...Or Mommy's...

So, I have part 3 of our adoption story typed (I still have to proofread it), but I have another post that needs to happen before I forget it...bear with me. Unfortunately it is not a funny post, but it does have a happy ending...or at least not a sad one. (For those of you who know about the incident over the weekend, keep reading to the "then today"...he added a new adventure today...)


Saturday Connor woke up with a cough that lasted all day. Because of Connor's lung issues (you'll learn more about that during the adoption story), every time he gets a cold, he has to have breathing treatments. So, I started him on breathing treatments every 4 hours . I sent him to bed Saturday night with a humidifier, cough medicine, Vick's vapor rub and a breathing treatment. At midnight I went in and checked on him. His breathing was very rapid--40-45 breaths/minute (20 breaths per minute is normal). I gave him another breathing treatment and checked it again. No change. So I called the triage nurse and was told to take him to the ER.

In the ER, his O2 levels were at 88 (that is low--96 is low end of normal). They immediately put him on oxygen, gave him an extra long breathing treatment, and did x-rays to verify there was no pneumonia. No pneumonia...and his O2 levels did not improve. So he got to ride in an ambulance. It was the highlight of his life.

At the new hospital he was diagnosed with asthma. I was actually very happy with this diagnosis--at last I had the opportunity to prevent his "asthma-like symptoms". Before we could go home (on Tuesday), we had to watch videos and take a test about our knowledge of asthma symptoms, triggers, and medicines. Plus they gave me this wonderful tool called a "peak-flow monitor" so that I could know exactly when a breathing treatment was needed and when he needs to go to the hospital. I love it! I've been having him blow into that thing 8-10 times a day and charting away.

Connor actually had a wonderful time at the hospital. He got to play video games, watch movies on demand, eat jello and ice cream, color, play with playdough, and cuddle with Mommy 24 hours a day. The staff adored him. Anything they asked him to do, he did without complaining. They even asked if a couple of nursing students could take their assessment tests with him since he was so compliant--made for an easy test on their part. When it was time to leave he didn't want to go--except he missed his siblings.

We were sent home with 5 different medications to take. I've been giving him breathing treatments every 6 hours, then 2 inhalers morning and night, a singulair at night and another pill in the afternoon. Thankfully that last pill was done today, the breathing treatments should stop sometime next week...hopefully...leaving only the morning and night routine.

Then today...

We woke up, gave him his breathing treatment and went outside to do chores. We'd finished with the chicks and the kids started playing on the trailer we used for the hayride over the weekend. I figured there wasn't much they could hurt themselves on and so I left them there to let the ponies out into the pasture. I was wrong.

As I was closing up the gate, I heard a loud scream. I quickly locked the gate, kicked off my sandals and took off running down the gravel driveway. Connor was hunched over on the ground, holding his stomach....the gate on the back of the trailer was lying on the ground like a ramp.

I picked him up and carried him in the house to look for injuries. His knees were bleeding and he had a large scratch on his back, so I got the box of band-aids out and got to work. When I was done, he was still screaming--that is VERY unusual for him.

"Connor, does it only hurt on the outside or does it hurt inside too?"

"It hurts inside," he wailed.

I called Daddy. He didn't answer--he was in class. So I called Grandpa.

"Um...is the gate on the back of the trailer heavy enough to break ribs?"

"Yes."

"Okay. I have to take Connor into the ER."

I called Daddy again and this time he answered (since he knows I would only call back in an emergency). He left work to meet me in the ER (an hour from where he was). Trying not to panic, I loaded the kids into the truck and raced to the new hospital--the first one we went to on Saturday night before the ambulance ride...thankfully only five minutes away. Tears were streaming down my face as I listened to Connor's wails from the back seat. I expected to see blood pouring out of his mouth at any minute from internal bleeding...

When we got to the ER, I picked up Connor and ran inside...all three of the other kids following close behind. I was really proud of them...they followed without a peep and sat like shadows in the corner of his room without being told. Thankfully Grandma was able to come shortly after we got there and I was able to focus 100% of my attention on my still crying boy.

The hospital only opened a couple of months ago so few people know about it. We literally got right in, only stopping at the front desk to say, "His name is Connor...and I think he has broken ribs." As we were brought into his room, all of the nurses swarmed in. I told them he has asthma so they immediately hooked him up to the pulse ox machine--his O2 levels were fine thankfully. The room was very high-tech. I put him down on the bed and they weighed him--the bed was a scale. The doctor followed the nurses in and once he knew what the problem was, he had them bring him a laptop with cords...this was the ultrasound machine. The doctor performed the ultrasound right away and determined that he wasn't bleeding internally. Right behind the doctor came the X-Ray machine--which uploaded to the doctor's laptop. His X-rays looked good. Right behind the X-ray technicians came the CT scan man. He wheeled Connor down the hall to the CT scan room.

It was a new highlight of Connor's life.

Sometime in all those testings, the nurses found a way to give Connor some Motrin as a pain killer so he was only whimpering a little by the time they got to the CT scan. When he saw the "space ship machine" he was excited. The man told him to hold still (which he did because he is literally the best patient ever) and then we left the room. I could hear the robotic voice announcing for him to "Please hold your breath now"..."You may breathe normally now..." OH JOY! Connor was in much better spirits after the CT scan.

Finally I was able to find out exactly what happened. Apparently Connor saw the pins holding the gate up and got curious as to what they did. He pulled them out and the gate came crashing down on top of him. Thankfully his instincts kicked in and he curled into a ball. If the gate had smashed down on his stomach, there would have been a lot more damage. God has special plans for that boy!

The doctor told me right away that he looked over the scans and they all looked clear, but he had to wait to hear from the radiologists to be certain. My mind was at ease. The whole visit took an hour and a half. I think that is fantastic time for three major tests to be done and read. Connor will be fine--albeit quite sore for a few days.

And he learned why Mommy always says, "curiosity killed the cat..."

He'll be a little less curious...for a few days anyway...