Here we go again.... Wednesday October 29, 2008
Posted 10-29-2008 at 11:49 PM by tlw468
I gotta tell ya, I am starting to wonder if this is even normal anymore....Anyone out there have sons that keep your hearts beating three times as fast as they should be???
When I made my last entry, I was hoping and praying that I wouldn't ever have to see the inside of a hospital again. I suppose when you have boys, it's inevitable, as they are so curious, so danger-seeking, and so incredibly unpredictable. (From a mother's point of view, anyhow!)
Well, it was all about my middle son for quite a while....the tractor accident, the car accident, and the appendicitis. But it has been switched up for the time being. While I'm greatful that my middle son got a "reprieve", it has started all over with my oldest.
On Sunday afternoon, my husband decided to take three of the boys on a 4-wheeler ride to the gravel pit down the road about 2 miles. We live out in the country, and this is about as cheap of an outting as you can get if you're pinching pennies and still wanting to entertain your boys at the same time! They love searching for agates, so this is a trip we take fairly often. It occupies their minds and their time, which usually keeps them from picking on each other or getting into different types of trouble around the house. My husband took one wheeler, with my middle son on the back. My oldest son took another wheeler and was in second position in line, and my step-son was pulling up the rear. They were on a gravel road, and my step-son was having trouble keeping up because the gravel was flying in his face, despite his helmet - he didn't have the visor down. So he decided to pull up alongside my oldest son. This made my son nervous, so he kept a close eye on his step-brother so they wouldn't side-swipe each other. Meanwhile, my husband was slowing down ahead of them, and made all the correct hand signals....but because the other two boys were watching each other, they didn't notice.
My son ended up rear-ending my husband, and hit him in such a way that the wheels caught on one another and flipped my son into the air. He literally bounced off the road before making his final landing in the middle of the dirt road, where the 4-wheeler landed on top of him.
My husband quickly ran to him to see if he was ok, and got the 4-wheeler into the ditch while my son attempted to get up. They were able to get home, all four of them, on two wheelers. My son, being nearly 13 years old and with a bit of a more stocky build, was very difficult to carry, so we had to support him into the house where I had to gingerly get his clothes off to assess the damage. There were lots of bumps and bruises, and he began screaming like I've never heard him before. I got him into the car and called the ER to let them know we were on our way. They came out to help him into the hospital, thank gosh, or we'd STILL Be sitting in my car at this very moment!
Unbelievably, he had no broken bones! But he tore his hamstring, and nearly every part of his body from the waist down was beginning to turn purple before my eyes....thank God for helmets!! We were in the hospital for about 4 hours, and he has been home from school all week so far. He wasn't able to use his crutches because his wrists were so swollen and painful that he couldn't hold on to them. And of course, he can't walk because of all the pain when he moves his leg. Today his wrists were feeling a bit better so I got him out of the house to go and watch his brother's basketball practice. When we got home, I was going to re-bandage his leg again, when I noticed that his entire upper leg was SO swollen, it looked like it would explode!! And it is so purple and almost blackish. It wasn't a pretty sight. I immediately had my husband take a look. We're going in to see our regular doctor tomorrow to be sure there's nothing more serious going on. For now, he's elevating his leg....I'm hoping that will help a bit. And we're icing it as well. I've never been through this particular type of thing before, and the doc in the ER didn't really give specific instructions on what to do. (I'm NEVER taking anyone to that hospital again....I'll gladly drive a few miles farther to find a better one!!!!)
Backtracking a bit here, back to when I was at the ER with him. My husband had to bring his son back to his mother's house so he could get to hockey practice in time, so I was off to the hospital with just my two boys. My husband, like I said before, had gotten the damaged 4-wheeler off into the ditch...remember? Well, after he dropped his son off, he was going to go back and pick up the 4-wheeler and bring it home. Obviously when the accident happened, it wasn't a priority to get the ATV back home....it was all about getting my son some medical attention. Anyhow, when he got to the ditch where he left the wheeler, it had been STOLEN!!! So by the time my boys and I returned from the hospital, we had the police over as well....to file the report. What a crazy and draining day!
To be honest, I really don't care that it was stolen. I'm glad it's gone! I should put the other ones out by the road with a sign that says "FREE! HELP YOURSELF!!!" Because as of right now, I'm DONE with 4-wheelers. This situation could have been so much worse. We are SO incredibly lucky that my son is OK. His teacher told me this morning that her best friend just lost her only son in a 4-wheeling accident back in August. He was only 19 years old. So it really put things into perspective. All these fun toys and things that everyone wants, but can really do without.
I really think there is someone watching over my kids. Even though two of them have had some scary situations in the last couple years, they have been so lucky as well. But every time something happens, and after the dust finally settles a bit, I'm left wondering, "What's next?" It's a scary feeling. And I don't like it one little bit.
It's so hard to not become over-protective, because aside from my middle son's appendicitis, all of these incidents have happened while they are away from me. It makes me want to keep them close at all times. And it's hard on my kids when I get that way, so I'm trying very hard to not do that, but keep them safe at the same time. That's a bit tricky, without following them everywhere they go! I hope I can relax a little bit soon....and I hope that my kids never have to see the inside of a hospital again!!!
When I made my last entry, I was hoping and praying that I wouldn't ever have to see the inside of a hospital again. I suppose when you have boys, it's inevitable, as they are so curious, so danger-seeking, and so incredibly unpredictable. (From a mother's point of view, anyhow!)
Well, it was all about my middle son for quite a while....the tractor accident, the car accident, and the appendicitis. But it has been switched up for the time being. While I'm greatful that my middle son got a "reprieve", it has started all over with my oldest.
On Sunday afternoon, my husband decided to take three of the boys on a 4-wheeler ride to the gravel pit down the road about 2 miles. We live out in the country, and this is about as cheap of an outting as you can get if you're pinching pennies and still wanting to entertain your boys at the same time! They love searching for agates, so this is a trip we take fairly often. It occupies their minds and their time, which usually keeps them from picking on each other or getting into different types of trouble around the house. My husband took one wheeler, with my middle son on the back. My oldest son took another wheeler and was in second position in line, and my step-son was pulling up the rear. They were on a gravel road, and my step-son was having trouble keeping up because the gravel was flying in his face, despite his helmet - he didn't have the visor down. So he decided to pull up alongside my oldest son. This made my son nervous, so he kept a close eye on his step-brother so they wouldn't side-swipe each other. Meanwhile, my husband was slowing down ahead of them, and made all the correct hand signals....but because the other two boys were watching each other, they didn't notice.
My son ended up rear-ending my husband, and hit him in such a way that the wheels caught on one another and flipped my son into the air. He literally bounced off the road before making his final landing in the middle of the dirt road, where the 4-wheeler landed on top of him.
My husband quickly ran to him to see if he was ok, and got the 4-wheeler into the ditch while my son attempted to get up. They were able to get home, all four of them, on two wheelers. My son, being nearly 13 years old and with a bit of a more stocky build, was very difficult to carry, so we had to support him into the house where I had to gingerly get his clothes off to assess the damage. There were lots of bumps and bruises, and he began screaming like I've never heard him before. I got him into the car and called the ER to let them know we were on our way. They came out to help him into the hospital, thank gosh, or we'd STILL Be sitting in my car at this very moment!
Unbelievably, he had no broken bones! But he tore his hamstring, and nearly every part of his body from the waist down was beginning to turn purple before my eyes....thank God for helmets!! We were in the hospital for about 4 hours, and he has been home from school all week so far. He wasn't able to use his crutches because his wrists were so swollen and painful that he couldn't hold on to them. And of course, he can't walk because of all the pain when he moves his leg. Today his wrists were feeling a bit better so I got him out of the house to go and watch his brother's basketball practice. When we got home, I was going to re-bandage his leg again, when I noticed that his entire upper leg was SO swollen, it looked like it would explode!! And it is so purple and almost blackish. It wasn't a pretty sight. I immediately had my husband take a look. We're going in to see our regular doctor tomorrow to be sure there's nothing more serious going on. For now, he's elevating his leg....I'm hoping that will help a bit. And we're icing it as well. I've never been through this particular type of thing before, and the doc in the ER didn't really give specific instructions on what to do. (I'm NEVER taking anyone to that hospital again....I'll gladly drive a few miles farther to find a better one!!!!)
Backtracking a bit here, back to when I was at the ER with him. My husband had to bring his son back to his mother's house so he could get to hockey practice in time, so I was off to the hospital with just my two boys. My husband, like I said before, had gotten the damaged 4-wheeler off into the ditch...remember? Well, after he dropped his son off, he was going to go back and pick up the 4-wheeler and bring it home. Obviously when the accident happened, it wasn't a priority to get the ATV back home....it was all about getting my son some medical attention. Anyhow, when he got to the ditch where he left the wheeler, it had been STOLEN!!! So by the time my boys and I returned from the hospital, we had the police over as well....to file the report. What a crazy and draining day!
To be honest, I really don't care that it was stolen. I'm glad it's gone! I should put the other ones out by the road with a sign that says "FREE! HELP YOURSELF!!!" Because as of right now, I'm DONE with 4-wheelers. This situation could have been so much worse. We are SO incredibly lucky that my son is OK. His teacher told me this morning that her best friend just lost her only son in a 4-wheeling accident back in August. He was only 19 years old. So it really put things into perspective. All these fun toys and things that everyone wants, but can really do without.
I really think there is someone watching over my kids. Even though two of them have had some scary situations in the last couple years, they have been so lucky as well. But every time something happens, and after the dust finally settles a bit, I'm left wondering, "What's next?" It's a scary feeling. And I don't like it one little bit.
It's so hard to not become over-protective, because aside from my middle son's appendicitis, all of these incidents have happened while they are away from me. It makes me want to keep them close at all times. And it's hard on my kids when I get that way, so I'm trying very hard to not do that, but keep them safe at the same time. That's a bit tricky, without following them everywhere they go! I hope I can relax a little bit soon....and I hope that my kids never have to see the inside of a hospital again!!!
Total Comments 0
