Thankful Thursday

So, this happened yesterday...

Mike had been dealing with a cold for a few days, which included feeling dizzy and lightheaded at times. I had an early morning doctor appointment yesterday, so he got his shower earlier than usual as he would be getting the girls up, ready, and out the door by himself. He started feeling faint in the shower and sat down for a minute. Luckily I was still in the bathroom and knew something was up when he turned off the water immediately after standing up. And then he crashed. I went over to see if it was a clumsy mistake or something else. Unfortunately it was the latter and as he tried to stand he fell again and seemed to be in a cloud as he answered me when I asked if he was OK. The next time he tried to stand and exit the shower he fell again and hit his head pretty hard on the tile floor. The fourth time was NOT the charm and and he fell again as I tried to get him safely out of the bathroom and to the bed to lay down.

When I rolled him over on the bathroom floor I saw he large gash in his forehead and, boy, was it a bleeder. Aside from passing out, the gash was at least 2 inches long and wide enough that a q-tip could fit inside, so I knew that would definitely need medical attention. As soon as he had a towel to apply pressure to the wound, I ran downstairs, got my phone, and called a neighbor who didn't answer, likely because it was 6am. At this point I realized I was physically shaking and could barely keep the phone stable. I called my Mom next and we decided that I'd see if I get get him up and to the car, we'd head to the ER, and if he wasn't stable enough I'd call 911. While talking to my Mom, my neighbor beeped-in and upon hearing the situation, was on her way to our house to stay with the girls until my Mom arrived. I could have taken the girls with us, but they were sound asleep and I knew that would be a huge production. Thank heaven for neighbors that we are blessed to also call dear friends!

We got to the ER and Mike was seen right away. They ran an EKG while they took his vitals and immediately set-up for routine labs, an IV, and x-rays. As suspected, he needed stitches, eleven to be exact, and handled it like a champ. I think I embarrassed him when I offered my hand as they numbed the area ... but that needle was big and I would have needed a hand! He's a lucky guy and all of his test came back fine. He was sent home with a portable heart rate monitor to wear for 24-hours and told to take it easy for a few days. We turned the heart rate monitor in this morning we were told no news is good news and to follow-up with his primary care doctor as directed, who will get the full report. Needless to say he feels pretty sore today and is a bit worn out. His shiner looks a little better, but will take some time to heal. We're working on a more heroic story : )

It's hard living in a town with no immediate family, but I feel so blessed that we've created a family in our neighborhood and I know that we'd all truly do anything for one another. I'm also thankful for a Mom that routinely drops what she's doing to help us out, even at two-hours away. We all slept well last night and will be saying some extra prayers and thank yous over the next few days!