Concussion Sunday

1.12.14

Many of you know that Bleu girl fell down our stairs last Sunday. It was such a scary incident! Tom and I were in the kitchen and heard the boom-boom-boom down to the lower level. We raced over just as Bleu landed -- on her forehead. She never lost consciousness, thank God, but she felt severe pain in her head and we worried about swelling, brain bleeds, etc. We rushed off to Urgent Care. Tom says he can still hear her head hit the floor, and it nearly makes him vomit.

The doctor at UC diagnosed a concussion (traumatic brain injury) and kept us a few hours for observation. Bleu was nauseous and sleepy. She felt pain in her head and right eye. The doctors agreed to avoid a CT scan for now, as it's quite a bit of radiation. That evening I was told to sleep with Bleu to monitor her breathing and wake her every four hours. (A concussion can cause a child to slip into coma while asleep. It's just a precaution, but OMG! Would you sleep after hearing that?) I stayed in her twin bed and put my ear up to her mouth anytime she was too quiet. 

Bleu had to follow up with a pediatrician the next morning. She took a series of neurological tests to determine any deficits from the concussion. Though her balance and memory were still off a bit, she did superb. Watching her answer difficult questions (ie. repeating back a series of words five minutes later, in reverse order) assured me that she would be alright. Bleu was given the okay to return to school but with a much lighter work load, frequent breaks from reading and writing, and absolutely no recess, running, climbing. A bruised brain can only heal with lots of rest, so that means a few weeks of laying low. We returned to the doctor this past Monday to repeat the same neuro tests and will go one more time next Tuesday. 

Our biggest concern at this point is re-injury. If Bleu so much as bumps heads with another Kindergartener at school, slips on ice or falls off her breakfast chair (which happens), a second blow to the head could cause permanent cerebral damage. We're being super careful, of course, but I secretly wish I could bubble wrap her before she leaves the house in the morning. Ya know?

P.S. Bleu was (understandably) nervous about returning to class with a swollen purple eye, so the director brought her puppy Rocket to school. It worked! My girl loves Rocket and played with him on/off for the next two days. It's the little things that make a big difference :) Thank you to everyone who sent prayers and well wishes our way. It means the world! Xoxo.