Today was the day I got "The Call".
This morning after the kids went to school, I met a friend for coffee, went to Target to buy Ava a bathing suit, picked up Ava from school, was almost back home and then.... "the call" came. The thought of getting this call has been on my mind for seven or so years. Really ever since Drew started school and spent time away from me, out of my direct care. I could see from the caller ID that the call was coming from Andrew's school. That part wasn't so unusual. It was what was coming.... The call from Cindy, our school's secretary went like this... "Mrs. Ablondi? This is Cindy from Rock Creek. Andrew's had a severe seizure and they've called 911. I don't know much more about it, because the nurses and staff are down with him in his classroom right now, and they've asked me to call you to get here right away." I asked for any information while driving back to Andrew' s school (the same area I had just left). Cindy said the nurse would have to call me back. So, immediately I called Dave. He left work right at that moment. The nurse called me back very quickly to say Andrew was stable and they had to give him his emergency seizure medicine because his seizure lasted for more than 5 minutes (7 minutes to be exact). Upon administering this medicine, the protocol is to call 911 to transport the patient to the hospital. If I could get there before the ambulance took him I could take him home. So, Ava, Jenna and I arrived at school to find the ambulance, and emergency vehicles with lights flashing. Andrew was already inside the ambulance. Three paramedics were checking his vitals and taking notes. Andrew's vitals were all fine. Over these past ten years, along with becoming a mom, I've also become a nurse. I asked what Andrew's vitals were, what were his respirations, what exactly did the seizure look like, did he turn blue, and so on. He looked okay, a little sedated, but okay. I asked to take him home. At this point I was asked to sign a "Refusal of Care" notice. Refusal of care, was I doing the right thing? I would have to take that risk. We all came home and spent the afternoon together taking it easy. Andrew appears okay, but I am once again reminded how fragile Andrew is, and that Dave and I can never, ever let our guards down when it comes to caring for Andrew.
2 comments:
Oh my goodness, I am so glad he's okay. You know as well as I do that each of us with children with special needs worries about "the call" all the time. Each time Hannah gets sick, I ask myself, "Is this the one that's going to kill her?" Oh, I am thinking of you, praying for you, and am so glad Andrew's doing better today.
You did the right thing and it also wouldn't have been wrong to take him to the hospital. Either way, you made the right decision. You're such a good mom and Dave's a good dad. You both hold a tender place in my heart. Sleep well tonight.
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