Author Lisa Harris

ICU AND EARTHQUAKES. . .

Sounds weird, I know, but that's been my week. Wednesday afternoon my four year old slid down the ladder of our jungle gym and hit his head. At first we didn't think much about it. There was just a small scratch on his head and it seemed like another typical boy bump. After an hour, though, I realized that something wasn't right. He was lethargic and making no sense when he tried to talk. Jayden's best little friend's father is a doctor, so I called him up to see if he though we should take him into the hospital. While his vitals seemed fine, Jayden was in a daze and making no sense, so the doctor drove Jayden and I to the hospital in Tzaneen. Scott was already in Tzaneen for one of our leadership training classes and met us at the hospital. A cat scan showed a definite concussion, but thankfully no bleeding. They admitted him into ICU so they could monitor him closely. Even though their was no bleeding, the doctor said if his condition began to deteriorate, we lived too far from the hospital and it was better to keep a close eye on him.

The first night was rough. He threw up about five times, pulled his IV out as well as the oxygen mask. I got little sleep that night as I lay next to his restless little body. At one in the morning, the bed started shaking. Half asleep and not knowing what was going on, I wondered if there was an earthquake, but thought that they didn’t have them here. Maybe a truck was rumbling by out side the window, but I didn’t hear a truck. The bed kept shaking and shaking. Finally I went back to sleep. The next morning we all found out that there had been a 7.8 earthquake in Mozambique and we had all felt the aftershocks.

Thursday, Jayden still wasn’t his normal self, so they kept him in ICU. He slept most of the day and was restless, not wanting to eat or play. The doctor insisted on keeping him another night.

Friday morning he woke up about four and wanted to eat and play. For the first time I breathed a sigh of relief. We were making progress. The doctor had him on a liquid diet, so he had Jell-O and juice for breakfast a couple hours later, but Jayden was not happy about this. When we asked him what he wanted, he said anything except Jell-O. He was smiling finally and played with a sticker book that had just come in the mail from his Grammy. At ten, the doctor moved him to the regular ward to see how he would do without the medication. He ate a chicken burger for lunch and that brought big smiles to his face. Finally, at eight Friday night I was able to bring him home. He’s still tired and getting his strength back, but once again I have my baby smiling again.

The whole experience has made me so grateful for God’s blessings. From the doctor who drove Jayden and I to the hospital to his wife who went to check on our other kids. To those who prayed for us and send encouraging messages by email to those who stopped by the hospital to pray. To those who made me eat, brought me food, and kept my kids, to teachers who didn’t gripe at Gabriel for not getting his homework done. To the wonderful doctors and nurses who God used to give Jayden the medical attention he needed.

Our hearts full of thanks!

Lisa