You know what? Eric and the kids have had five days off, and it's actually been pretty good. We've obviously had some tough moments, and I am coming down of my best-trip-to-Costco-Korea-ever high, but overall, it's been really good. I switched Reece to one mid-day nap to avoid the stress of trying (unsuccessfully) to get him to nap twice with everyone home, and it has worked really well on all counts.
On Saturday, we had a friend over for breakfast, and then the kids spent a couple of hours over at the neighbor's playing with friends. On Sunday, Eric and Cade went to church and did the homeless ministry. Monday morning, we went to church to watch the Super Bowl and have a big Southern breakfast, since everyone had the day off for Lunar New Year. Monday night, friends volunteered to babysit, so Eric and I had dinner and saw a movie on base. It was nice to not have to deal with traffic, crowds, or public transportation on a date, especially considering it was the actual holiday and nothing was going to be open.
Things were a little more eventful on Tuesday afternoon when Kennedy was holding Reece while sitting at the kitchen table, and he managed to wrangle himself out of her arms and hit the floor pretty hard. After giving him some milk and holding him for awhile, I began to get a little concerned that he wasn't quite himself. He wasn't moving much or reacting to anything. He wouldn't even finish his milk. Eventually, he did climb down off my lap to find out what Cade was doing. It wasn't long before he started crying again, and he laid down on Eric's chest. The next we knew, he was throwing up-a lot-and I was worried for real. We hopped in the shower to get him cleaned up, sent the kids back to the neighbor's house, and headed to the ER.
To be honest, they weren't a lot of help. We had to wait for awhile, since it was a long holiday weekend and all of the doctor's offices were closed. At triage, we told the nurse the problem and she checked his temperature and oxygen levels. Then, we were sent back to a bed where a medical student came to tell us that there was less than 1% chance of brain damage, and she seemed to be trying to convince us not to get a CT scan. We were a little irritated, and I asked her if there was something they were going to do to assess him if they wouldn't do a CT. She said no, but asked us to wait. Minutes later, another nurse appeared and brought us to get X-rays. After they took about six scans of his head (which he did not enjoy!), they ushered us out and we stood awkwardly, until yet another nurse told us we could go. The whole thing took less than an hour and only cost $125, but we left with no information and not a lot of reassurance, either. I certainly won't miss the language barrier!
For once, Google was my friend, so we'd read some of the things to watch for. He was able to eat dinner that evening without vomiting. His pupils were even and not dilated. He was responsive to sound and light, and he wasn't even very lethargic after that first hour or two. He stayed up until a reasonable bedtime, and then I woke him every few hours throughout the night. He's been fine so far today, so I don't know that we're necessarily in the clear (all I know about concussions I've learned from Google and coaching), but I'm pretty confident that he's okay.
Aside from his first ER trip, Reece has hit a couple of other milestones this weekend, though walking is not one of them. (He has been taking one step more regularly.) He has figured out how to climb up onto and get down from all of the furniture, so I'm going to have to be watching him a lot more closely. Another major pitfall has been that he can now open all of the doors in our house. Whoever thought it was a good idea to put handles in all Korean apartments, rather than knobs, was wrong, and I'd like to track him down and tell him so!
Our major excitement around here this weekend has been looking toward the future, though. And that's really saying something. This past week, I talked to my dad and updated him on everything that we knew so far. Absolutely nothing! Our one lead had been one of Eric's former principals from Lakewood who thought that he might have a position for Eric in the fall in Edmonds. But, this week we've finally had real contact with hiring principals in Texas and Connecticut and we have interviews tonight and tomorrow. This time next week, we might have an idea where we'll be moving this summer, and that would be very exciting!
On Saturday, we had a friend over for breakfast, and then the kids spent a couple of hours over at the neighbor's playing with friends. On Sunday, Eric and Cade went to church and did the homeless ministry. Monday morning, we went to church to watch the Super Bowl and have a big Southern breakfast, since everyone had the day off for Lunar New Year. Monday night, friends volunteered to babysit, so Eric and I had dinner and saw a movie on base. It was nice to not have to deal with traffic, crowds, or public transportation on a date, especially considering it was the actual holiday and nothing was going to be open.
Things were a little more eventful on Tuesday afternoon when Kennedy was holding Reece while sitting at the kitchen table, and he managed to wrangle himself out of her arms and hit the floor pretty hard. After giving him some milk and holding him for awhile, I began to get a little concerned that he wasn't quite himself. He wasn't moving much or reacting to anything. He wouldn't even finish his milk. Eventually, he did climb down off my lap to find out what Cade was doing. It wasn't long before he started crying again, and he laid down on Eric's chest. The next we knew, he was throwing up-a lot-and I was worried for real. We hopped in the shower to get him cleaned up, sent the kids back to the neighbor's house, and headed to the ER.
To be honest, they weren't a lot of help. We had to wait for awhile, since it was a long holiday weekend and all of the doctor's offices were closed. At triage, we told the nurse the problem and she checked his temperature and oxygen levels. Then, we were sent back to a bed where a medical student came to tell us that there was less than 1% chance of brain damage, and she seemed to be trying to convince us not to get a CT scan. We were a little irritated, and I asked her if there was something they were going to do to assess him if they wouldn't do a CT. She said no, but asked us to wait. Minutes later, another nurse appeared and brought us to get X-rays. After they took about six scans of his head (which he did not enjoy!), they ushered us out and we stood awkwardly, until yet another nurse told us we could go. The whole thing took less than an hour and only cost $125, but we left with no information and not a lot of reassurance, either. I certainly won't miss the language barrier!
For once, Google was my friend, so we'd read some of the things to watch for. He was able to eat dinner that evening without vomiting. His pupils were even and not dilated. He was responsive to sound and light, and he wasn't even very lethargic after that first hour or two. He stayed up until a reasonable bedtime, and then I woke him every few hours throughout the night. He's been fine so far today, so I don't know that we're necessarily in the clear (all I know about concussions I've learned from Google and coaching), but I'm pretty confident that he's okay.
Aside from his first ER trip, Reece has hit a couple of other milestones this weekend, though walking is not one of them. (He has been taking one step more regularly.) He has figured out how to climb up onto and get down from all of the furniture, so I'm going to have to be watching him a lot more closely. Another major pitfall has been that he can now open all of the doors in our house. Whoever thought it was a good idea to put handles in all Korean apartments, rather than knobs, was wrong, and I'd like to track him down and tell him so!
Our major excitement around here this weekend has been looking toward the future, though. And that's really saying something. This past week, I talked to my dad and updated him on everything that we knew so far. Absolutely nothing! Our one lead had been one of Eric's former principals from Lakewood who thought that he might have a position for Eric in the fall in Edmonds. But, this week we've finally had real contact with hiring principals in Texas and Connecticut and we have interviews tonight and tomorrow. This time next week, we might have an idea where we'll be moving this summer, and that would be very exciting!
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