Actual Date: Friday, September 17, 2010
On this day, Parker had his 1 year check up. We love the kids doctor. She's the best. She's been a blessing to us. I was worried about finding a Pediatrician that we loved as much as our old one but we lucked out. She goes above and beyond to make sure that you know the details of what's going on and that you know everything you can do to make it better.
She's also very personable. She has even prayed for my family during an appointment. It was really touching to know that she cares about all of us and that we're not just a number to her.
Here's Parker's stats from the check up:
He weighed 20 pounds which puts him in the 20% of his peers.
His height was 30 inches which puts him in the 57% of his peers.
His head circumference was 17.5 which puts him in the 6% of his peers.
After Brian got home we had dinner and then Ava and I headed off to the grocery store. I have been going to the store in the evening so that we don't have to spend our weekend family getting groceries. And I have been taking at least one of the kids with me so that it's not too crazy for Brian at home and that I can have some one on one time with each of the kids.
Brian took these pictures of Parker and Brooke while Ava and I were at the store. This one of Brooke cracks me up.
Ava and I were having fun spending girl time together shopping. But about half way through the store, I started not feeling very well. I had been really tired all day so I just figured maybe I was coming down with something. Then I started getting really clammy and light headed like my blood sugar was low. So I figured I would run up to the front of the store and grab something to snack on while we finished up. By the time I got half way up to the registers, my left side started to go numb.
That's when I really started to get worried. The left side of my face was tingling and all the way down my left arm felt numb. I was still able to use it but it just felt really weird. I decided I better just check out and head home. I must have looked bad because the Cashier asked me if I was alright.
We headed straight home and I told Brian about how I was feeling when I walked in the door. I laid down on the couch and waited for the sensation to get better. But it just kept getting worse. I decided I should probably go to the hospital.
I didn't write about this earlier in the week but earlier in the week I had put on Brooke's goggles while swimming some laps in the pool. I guess my latex allergy is worse that I thought it was because on Monday I woke up with blisters all over my face because apparently the little 99 cent goggles were made of latex. Monday and Tuesday I pumped myself up with Benadryl but everyday the blisters got worse and worse. So, I finally went in on Wednesday and the doctor prescribed me a steroid to help me get rid of the rash.
I told Brian to stay home with the kids and I would run to the hospital that is about two miles away. At that point I was thinking that they would just tell me that this was just some side effect from the steroid and that I'd be fine. When I got there they took me in and my blood pressure was really high but they said that was probably because I was nervous. They took me in and took some blood and then the Doctor came in to ask me what was going on.
She said that I should go get a Cat scan and see if there was anything really going on. She said that the Steroid should not be making me feel like I was. Soon after that they wheeled me off to get the Cat scan. It was kinda scary because I've never done anything like that but I was relieved that maybe this would help us get some answers.
After that was done they took me back into my room and before I knew it the Doctor was back in my room and she said that they had seen swelling in my brain on the Cat scan. She told me that they would be taking me in for a MRI and a MRA and that I should call my husband to come be with me because this could be very serious.
It all happened so fast. I called Brian and told him what the doctor said. I was worried about who we could get to watch the kids because at this point it was close to 11 o'clock at night. Brian said he would try to get ahold of our awesome neighbors and see if they could watch the kids for us so he could come to the hospital. Luckily Jessica said she would come over and stay with the kids. Can I just say how much we love our neighbors again! I don't know what we would have done without them.
Brian showed up to the hospital a little while before they took me in for the MRI stuff. When I saw him that's when I finally felt like I could let go of my nerves and cry. We prayed together. I was so grateful to have him there. He is my rock.
They took me in for the MRI and I was really nervous. I'm not usually claustrophobic but I guess just because of everything that was all of a sudden happening I was super scared about the idea of being stuck in a tube for 20 plus minutes. The guy who was in charge was really great about helping to calm my nerves as best he could. He blasted country music to try to drowned out the sound of the machine. I guess it helped a little.
He gave me a little button before he sent me in and said to push it only if I really really was freaking out because we would have to start all over again if he pulled me out. He told me it would take about 20 minutes so I told myself "You can do this, listen to about 5 songs and you'll be out of there. No problem!" And for the most part it wasn't. There was some kinda crazy mirror in there that allowed you to see the guy who was running the machine so I knew he was watching me and that I would be fine. But it made me really dizzy to look at it so I tried to keep my eyes shut most of the time and count down the songs.
Once the 5th song was over I was thinking ok it can't be much longer now... then the 6th song ended...and the 7th. I was about ready to start really freak out when the machine turned off and my hero came in and pulled me out of that crazy machine.
They took me back to my room and set me up with an IV. The doctor came in and said that the MRI and MRA looked clear but that she wanted me to move upstairs for observation and that she called in a Neurologist to come look over my results and talk to me. She said she wasn't really sure what was going on but there was a good chance that I had had a small stroke.
Here I am all set up in my room with my heart monitors on. They put me on the Cardio floor so they could monitor me closely. I was by far the youngest person there. The rest of the night was filled with monitoring and meeting with another Doctor who pretty much said the same thing, we don't really know until the Neurologist gets here. So we settled in and tried to get some sleep until the Neurologist got there.
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