Having a sick child is nothing new to any mother out there...no mom is exempt from the worries we face! I give my worries to God but I am weary. To hear a child cry out in their sleep in pain is heart breaking. You jump up, run to their side and they are asleep. Thankful that the pain has not awaken them, you ease back to bed, just to hear it again and again. The gray circles under their eyes reveales a lack of restful sleep and your day starts...and there is no make up in the world to make you appear rested!
Oh, I know God is in control of this situation and I am trying DESPERATLY to trade in my worrying ways for prayer. I think I have fallen sound asleep the past 12 nights praying. I love falling asleep praying...it is peaceful...until you wake up to the moans and cries of your child and you start the cycle over again.
In my prayers I count my blessing one by one. Boy, am I blessed. An incredible husband that loves me, loves our children and is the Chirstian leader of our home. I count that blessing first. Then I think and pray for each one of our children. Everyone thinks their kids are awesome....I feel no different! Each one of them are special, different
Thursday, March 5, 2026
Where to put it....
Well, we just got back from Disney World, had Lawson home with the stomach bug for 2 days, Evelyn has a doctor's appointment in the morning and Clay and orthodontist appointment tomorrow afternoon. I mopped half the kitchen floor, did 2 loads of laundry, went to church, chases a lizard around the house, finished mopping the floor and Brantlee is out of town....typical week.
This week I am completely fired up about politics...just mad...angry...every time I turn around I want to slap the television when politics are being discussed. What is up with that??? I usually steer clear of political discussions because my lack of knowledge and fear of sounding stupid. But I am pretty sure you do not have to be a political scholar to see that the road this country is on in going the wrong direction. All the HOPE and CHANGE Obama promised has not come true....not even CLOSE. I would LOVE for someone who voted for Obama in '08 and plans to vote for him in '12 to PLEASE explain to me why. I mean that with all sincerity. Please help me understand. Please!
I don't know it I have this completely correct but if Christan's tithed the way they should, the churches of the world
I know I am a blessed person, I was brought up in a loving Christian family. I have wonderful parents who are still married and in love. My daddy worked hard to provide for us, my mom stayed home and raised my sister and me, both sets of my grandparents lived down the street. I went to a great little school and graduated with 18 people...most of which started kindergarten with me in 1980. So, I know I have no idea how bad things can be, how desperate it must feel to not have food for my family
This week I am completely fired up about politics...just mad...angry...every time I turn around I want to slap the television when politics are being discussed. What is up with that??? I usually steer clear of political discussions because my lack of knowledge and fear of sounding stupid. But I am pretty sure you do not have to be a political scholar to see that the road this country is on in going the wrong direction. All the HOPE and CHANGE Obama promised has not come true....not even CLOSE. I would LOVE for someone who voted for Obama in '08 and plans to vote for him in '12 to PLEASE explain to me why. I mean that with all sincerity. Please help me understand. Please!
I don't know it I have this completely correct but if Christan's tithed the way they should, the churches of the world
I know I am a blessed person, I was brought up in a loving Christian family. I have wonderful parents who are still married and in love. My daddy worked hard to provide for us, my mom stayed home and raised my sister and me, both sets of my grandparents lived down the street. I went to a great little school and graduated with 18 people...most of which started kindergarten with me in 1980. So, I know I have no idea how bad things can be, how desperate it must feel to not have food for my family
XXXXXXX football program has been heavy on my heart. This is not an attack or a finger pointing email, it prayerfully comes from a mom with a sick child. After praying about this for months and watching Clay struggle I just want my opinion heard. What you do with it, will be up to you. I am not against kids playing football, I just want parents to make informed decisions and for precautions to be put in place in order to make the game as safe for our kids as possible.
Since Clay's concussion I have spent countless hours reading and researching concussions and more importantly second impact syndrome (SIS.) (The statistics are alarming in young children!!!!) I'm just a mom, not a physician or sports trainer. I signed my kid up to play football because that is what he wanted to do. I bought a used helmet and pads. It never crossed my mind to think anything more than bruises or a possible broken bone would happen to him. The night of the concussion he asked to go back into the game. I whole heartily believe that if a teammates wonderful dad (who has a football past) had not told him he should sit out, we would be dealing with a completely different situation here.
Clay's injury occurred on September 15, 4 1/2 months ago. He missed close to 5 full weeks of school and eventually went back 1/2 days until he could handle the full day. When he did make it through the full days of school he would lay on the sofa until bed time. We are still under the care of Dr. Trasmonty, in Macon, a pediatric neurologist . We go back for our third visit next week. Since the concussion, Clay has been on a low dose antidepressant which helps calm the central nervous system helping with the headaches. However, he has had to drop out of his challenge groups at school due to the amount of work and headaches. The harder he concentrates the more often the headaches. He has always been an A student. Now, depending on how much sleep he has and how his head is feeling his grades have slipped (which is the least of my worries.) He used to get in bed at night and read 30-40 pages in his AR book. Now, he can only focuses long enough to read around 10 pages. To see Clay you would not see a thing wrong with him. He is non-stop motion and action, all boy and then some, riding his bike, shooting baskets, ripstiking, zip lining, climbing trees....he appears normal. But as a mom, let me assure you, he is not! He is easily upset, has trouble with focusing for long periods of time, continues to have headaches and trouble sleeping.
All these symptoms are slowly improving.
I know this is not the worse case scenario but for us it has been a hard 5 months.
With Clay's injury the ambulance never came over, nobody called it. I was told I could take him home and 5 minutes down the road I realized how sick he was, dizzy, screaming from a headache. We went straight to the ER where he failed the cognitive test and was sent directly for an MRI. I did not even know there were paramedics on sight? There seemed to be a breakdown of communication between coaches/trainers/paramedics. Again, I am not pointing a finger anywhere. I am mostly angry at myself for not educating myself or insisting more be done.
Another very dangerous aspect to all of this is that the children want to play. The players "lie" and shake off their injuries so they can get back out there...play through the pain...which when you are dealing with a head injury, playing through the pain can be fatal.
I promise this is not a soap box I am on, I have prayerfully thought about what a mom like me (not even a member of Sherwood) can do...but I have to speak my peace. I feel so passionately that parents are not MISINFORMED but UNINFORMED and as the organization providing the activity there needs to be something changed...in my humble opinion.
My thoughts are...
A mandatory parent meeting, explaining safety equipment, getting a helmet fitted properly (not buying it off Craig's list, like we did.)
A quick explanation of concussion symptoms, how to recognize them and the fatal danger of SIS.
A paramedic always on campus during games and called for all head injuries. The term "bell ringer" should be forever changed to mild brain injury.
If possible, there may be athlete's parents in the medical profession that could volunteer to "stand-by" at practices.
Again, you will not hear from me again. You can delete this or take some of my suggestions. I would be happy to speak to anyone who would like more information or ideas about this. I wish you all the best.
-- Ramsey Lawrence
Since Clay's concussion I have spent countless hours reading and researching concussions and more importantly second impact syndrome (SIS.) (The statistics are alarming in young children!!!!) I'm just a mom, not a physician or sports trainer. I signed my kid up to play football because that is what he wanted to do. I bought a used helmet and pads. It never crossed my mind to think anything more than bruises or a possible broken bone would happen to him. The night of the concussion he asked to go back into the game. I whole heartily believe that if a teammates wonderful dad (who has a football past) had not told him he should sit out, we would be dealing with a completely different situation here.
Clay's injury occurred on September 15, 4 1/2 months ago. He missed close to 5 full weeks of school and eventually went back 1/2 days until he could handle the full day. When he did make it through the full days of school he would lay on the sofa until bed time. We are still under the care of Dr. Trasmonty, in Macon, a pediatric neurologist . We go back for our third visit next week. Since the concussion, Clay has been on a low dose antidepressant which helps calm the central nervous system helping with the headaches. However, he has had to drop out of his challenge groups at school due to the amount of work and headaches. The harder he concentrates the more often the headaches. He has always been an A student. Now, depending on how much sleep he has and how his head is feeling his grades have slipped (which is the least of my worries.) He used to get in bed at night and read 30-40 pages in his AR book. Now, he can only focuses long enough to read around 10 pages. To see Clay you would not see a thing wrong with him. He is non-stop motion and action, all boy and then some, riding his bike, shooting baskets, ripstiking, zip lining, climbing trees....he appears normal. But as a mom, let me assure you, he is not! He is easily upset, has trouble with focusing for long periods of time, continues to have headaches and trouble sleeping.
All these symptoms are slowly improving.
I know this is not the worse case scenario but for us it has been a hard 5 months.
With Clay's injury the ambulance never came over, nobody called it. I was told I could take him home and 5 minutes down the road I realized how sick he was, dizzy, screaming from a headache. We went straight to the ER where he failed the cognitive test and was sent directly for an MRI. I did not even know there were paramedics on sight? There seemed to be a breakdown of communication between coaches/trainers/paramedics. Again, I am not pointing a finger anywhere. I am mostly angry at myself for not educating myself or insisting more be done.
Another very dangerous aspect to all of this is that the children want to play. The players "lie" and shake off their injuries so they can get back out there...play through the pain...which when you are dealing with a head injury, playing through the pain can be fatal.
I promise this is not a soap box I am on, I have prayerfully thought about what a mom like me (not even a member of Sherwood) can do...but I have to speak my peace. I feel so passionately that parents are not MISINFORMED but UNINFORMED and as the organization providing the activity there needs to be something changed...in my humble opinion.
My thoughts are...
A mandatory parent meeting, explaining safety equipment, getting a helmet fitted properly (not buying it off Craig's list, like we did.)
A quick explanation of concussion symptoms, how to recognize them and the fatal danger of SIS.
A paramedic always on campus during games and called for all head injuries. The term "bell ringer" should be forever changed to mild brain injury.
If possible, there may be athlete's parents in the medical profession that could volunteer to "stand-by" at practices.
Again, you will not hear from me again. You can delete this or take some of my suggestions. I would be happy to speak to anyone who would like more information or ideas about this. I wish you all the best.
-- Ramsey Lawrence
The Light at the end of the tunnel
I am so excited that this time next week will be Spring Break..shortly followed by SUMMER (63 days to be exact!!!)
I am so happy that Clay is EXCELLENT!!
I love that Lawson and Logan love Merry Acres and could not be happier! Things right now are just good and I figured since most of my blogs are written while I'm home with a sick or hurt child....I should share the positive...and there are a lot of positives today...life is not a guarantee it is a gift so today I am celebrating life being excellent!
Granny and Papa have had cousins camp for years but Evelyn was always been to young to go. Last year, she decided to have Jr. Cousin's Camp with Evelyn and her cousin Rachel. It was great and today Evelyn left for her 2nd annual Jr. Cousin's camp. Lawson and Logan just arrived safely at Epworth for their Conformation Retreat. I pray it will be a special and spiritual time for them as the near the time to be confirmed in our church. Clay is headed to a friend's house to spend the night, Brantlee is sound asleep on the back porch and I am typing listening to him snore. In a while we are going to head out to dinner and date night! See, I told you, life is good.
I think sunshine and spring make everything better. I have always known I loved summer time and all that it brings but I have never been so ready for sunshine and spring. The yard is bright and colorful, the sun feels good on my skin, even the buzzing mosquitoes can't tick me off today!
I am so happy that Clay is EXCELLENT!!
I love that Lawson and Logan love Merry Acres and could not be happier! Things right now are just good and I figured since most of my blogs are written while I'm home with a sick or hurt child....I should share the positive...and there are a lot of positives today...life is not a guarantee it is a gift so today I am celebrating life being excellent!
Granny and Papa have had cousins camp for years but Evelyn was always been to young to go. Last year, she decided to have Jr. Cousin's Camp with Evelyn and her cousin Rachel. It was great and today Evelyn left for her 2nd annual Jr. Cousin's camp. Lawson and Logan just arrived safely at Epworth for their Conformation Retreat. I pray it will be a special and spiritual time for them as the near the time to be confirmed in our church. Clay is headed to a friend's house to spend the night, Brantlee is sound asleep on the back porch and I am typing listening to him snore. In a while we are going to head out to dinner and date night! See, I told you, life is good.
I think sunshine and spring make everything better. I have always known I loved summer time and all that it brings but I have never been so ready for sunshine and spring. The yard is bright and colorful, the sun feels good on my skin, even the buzzing mosquitoes can't tick me off today!
We have some answers but still some questions...
Well, evey time I re-read a post I see what mistakes I have made and as we get closer to figuring this out I can't believe how obvious the answers were. Does that make since? Why not do a neck x-ray when you have a concussion with whip lash?? A year later you discover your 10 year old neck is completely out of whack why not demand more testing done then? why did I wait 6 weeks...I know the doctors we have seen so far are doing what they know to do. I know our neurologist is throwing pills at Clay and increasing the doses of the medication when we complain, because he is trying to improve Clay's quality of life, make the headaches less painful. Why not ask yourself, "why is this 10 year old having headaches?' I don't know...he was just treating the headaches. Then a friend suggest we see a chiropractor. At this point I will try anything...the first day, he puts his hands around Clay's neck and his eyes widen and he immediately knows what our problem is. He does an xray to confirm and it is painfully obvious his vertebrae are complelety out of line. We are told it will take 6-8 weeks of adjustments and his neck muscles should begin to strengthen and hold the adjustment. At week 6, there was an obvious improvement. We would go for an adjustment on Monday then Tuesday and Wednesday were wonderful days, headache free days, old Clay day's. By Thursday afternoon his eyes would loose their twinkle, his face would get pale...by Friday he felt horrible. We would get another adjustment and he would be good as new for a 2-3 days and the cycle continued. I tried my best to give our chiropractor the 8 weeks he asked for but I am not a patient person. I made an appointment with our favorite orthopedist that havs put close to a dozen cast on Lawrence kids. He could feel a misalignment but wanted to rule everything out so he ordered an MRI. The first MRI did not work because Clay's braces made halos over the images. We tried a second MRI at Phoebe with a higher magnet field and they were able to get a better picture. As they were doing the MRI I told the tech that the doctors were mainly interested in his C1C2C3 vertebrae. The tech told me that they could not see these vertebrae but they saw enough to know what was going on. My follow up for the results was not until Friday morning. This was Tuesday. I was very anxious (imagine that) because I was told by our chiropractor and orthopedist that the MRI would be negative and now the tech has told me they "see enough." What the hell did that mean? Friday morning came around and we have an adjustment appointment at 9:15 and a orthopedist appointment (across the hall) at 10:15. My heart sunk when I walked back to see both the chiropractor and doctor in the room together waiting for me. They proceeded to tell me that Clay has a ruptured disc in his c5c6 vertebra. The vertebrae was pressing against the part of the spinal chord that carries the nerves to the brain and leaking fluid which was irritating tho spinal chord. They explained that it was about shoulder level and when he bends his head down to read, sit at his desk, eat...it bulges that disc out pressing on the spinal chord even more. They said at his age there is still a blood supply to the disc, that with medication, rest and physical therapy this could be fixed. HALLELUJAH, PRAISE THE LORD!!! An answer and a solution!!! I like it!!!
I was on a high all day Friday, an answer, an answer, an answer....then came the self inflicted guilt. My poor child has been walking around for 14 months with a ruptured disc and having suribrospinal fluid headaches and all we did was throw pills at him.....why did I wait so long...and then the next rinkle came....his pediatrician contacted me and told me this was not something we wanted to do in Albany. He informed me that we had one shot at fixing this right and we needed to see a pediatric orthopedic spine specialist at Children's Hospital in Atlanta. SERIOUSLY...........It never crossed my mind that this was rare and that a child's neck and spine is nothing like an adults. By the age of 25 your disc between your vertebrae became hard and no longer absorb fluids. So this is a totally different ball of wax we are dealing with. This is an injury that happens in less that okay, set it up, we will be there, tell me when and where....
I was on a high all day Friday, an answer, an answer, an answer....then came the self inflicted guilt. My poor child has been walking around for 14 months with a ruptured disc and having suribrospinal fluid headaches and all we did was throw pills at him.....why did I wait so long...and then the next rinkle came....his pediatrician contacted me and told me this was not something we wanted to do in Albany. He informed me that we had one shot at fixing this right and we needed to see a pediatric orthopedic spine specialist at Children's Hospital in Atlanta. SERIOUSLY...........It never crossed my mind that this was rare and that a child's neck and spine is nothing like an adults. By the age of 25 your disc between your vertebrae became hard and no longer absorb fluids. So this is a totally different ball of wax we are dealing with. This is an injury that happens in less that okay, set it up, we will be there, tell me when and where....
We may have gotten it right...finally
It has been close to three months since I have blogged...a lot has happened. The good news is that Clay has been back in school for 3 weeks and is doing great!!! But...what a journey...
After he was placed in hospital home bound he had a teacher that came to our house a few times a week for a couple of hours. Sometimes he could work the whole time, sometimes he did not feel well enough. He was having neck adjustments every 4 days. Day one was great, day two was even better but the afternoon his headaches were creaping back and by day four he was asking when he was going back to see Mr. Davis. He was the only one that could give Clay any relief from these headaches. After 6 weeks I realized we could not do this forever and the adjustments were not holding. I beat down doors and became "that crazy mom." As a result, he ended up with 3 MRI's, a trip to Egelston and a neck brace...who knew
After he was placed in hospital home bound he had a teacher that came to our house a few times a week for a couple of hours. Sometimes he could work the whole time, sometimes he did not feel well enough. He was having neck adjustments every 4 days. Day one was great, day two was even better but the afternoon his headaches were creaping back and by day four he was asking when he was going back to see Mr. Davis. He was the only one that could give Clay any relief from these headaches. After 6 weeks I realized we could not do this forever and the adjustments were not holding. I beat down doors and became "that crazy mom." As a result, he ended up with 3 MRI's, a trip to Egelston and a neck brace...who knew
80 and Irony
I left Brantlee at home and went to a concert. Who would have ever thought??? Anyone who is my friend knows that music is a huge part of the Lawrence life. We crank it up every morning. It is the best way to start our day. It drowns out the whining and puts most of our family in good moods.
I did not grow up listening to music 24/7. Amy and I both had our own "boom boxes" and fair share of Madona, Michael Jackson and Tiffany music. We listened in our rooms, but never as a family event. When I think of music and my childhood, I think mostly of being in the boat at Lake Talquin or taking a river trip listening to Ronnie Milsap, Kenny Rogers and Dolly. We also had good times listening to tunes in daddy's truck on the way to the farm or to get a slushy.
I would see bands in college but only because they were at the establishments we frequented. I didn't follow any particular group. It wasn't until I was pregnant with Lawson and Logan that music became an everyday occurrence. I was on bed rest and when Brantlee was not working he was home taking care of me. Out of sheer boredom he picked up the guitar. He would teach himself how to play every night and I was a stuck and captive audience. Twelve years later, some of our best times revolve around music.
One of Brantlee's friends sent him some (out of the main stream) music. It was my first experience with groups that were not on the radio. Brantlee became a big fan. He drug me to a few shows. The first group I saw was Rollin in the Hay. The only reason I agreed to go was because he arranged for a babysitter for the weekend and it was time away. Sleeping in was my main event for the weekend, not the show. We saw Hay once at the Supper Club in Auburn and the other time at Salty Dogs at the beach. I admit, I had a huge misconception of the types of people who listened to this music. I was pretty sure you had to be a groupie, covered in tattoos and smoke a lot of pot to do anything like the above. Turn out, you don't!
After Rollin in the Hay we added Robert Earl Keen, The Gourds, Reckless Kelly, Randy Rogers, Ryan Bingham, Chris Knight and Cross Canadian Ragweed to our list of favorites. We have made some of the best memories seeing these groups when they come East. Unfortunately, most of them are Texas Country and only head our way a few times a year. By our way, I don't mean Albany. It is usually Atlanta, Tallahassee, Auburn or Grenville.
Luckily we have found friends in Albany who like the same groups we do. When we can't see them live, the next best thing is a jam session on the back porch with Brantlee playing their songs on his guitar and my "groupie" friends singing along.
Brantlee and I both turn 40 in 2013. Our birthday gift to each other is a trip to Austin, TX!
The Irony of it all...Brantlee got me started on this music and I left him at home with the kids Wednesday night to head to Auburn (with his blessing...somebody has to earn a paycheck and he had an 8:00 am meeting) to see Reckless Kelly at Bourbon Street Bar. 80 is how I felt after getting home at 4:00 am!
I did not grow up listening to music 24/7. Amy and I both had our own "boom boxes" and fair share of Madona, Michael Jackson and Tiffany music. We listened in our rooms, but never as a family event. When I think of music and my childhood, I think mostly of being in the boat at Lake Talquin or taking a river trip listening to Ronnie Milsap, Kenny Rogers and Dolly. We also had good times listening to tunes in daddy's truck on the way to the farm or to get a slushy.
I would see bands in college but only because they were at the establishments we frequented. I didn't follow any particular group. It wasn't until I was pregnant with Lawson and Logan that music became an everyday occurrence. I was on bed rest and when Brantlee was not working he was home taking care of me. Out of sheer boredom he picked up the guitar. He would teach himself how to play every night and I was a stuck and captive audience. Twelve years later, some of our best times revolve around music.
One of Brantlee's friends sent him some (out of the main stream) music. It was my first experience with groups that were not on the radio. Brantlee became a big fan. He drug me to a few shows. The first group I saw was Rollin in the Hay. The only reason I agreed to go was because he arranged for a babysitter for the weekend and it was time away. Sleeping in was my main event for the weekend, not the show. We saw Hay once at the Supper Club in Auburn and the other time at Salty Dogs at the beach. I admit, I had a huge misconception of the types of people who listened to this music. I was pretty sure you had to be a groupie, covered in tattoos and smoke a lot of pot to do anything like the above. Turn out, you don't!
After Rollin in the Hay we added Robert Earl Keen, The Gourds, Reckless Kelly, Randy Rogers, Ryan Bingham, Chris Knight and Cross Canadian Ragweed to our list of favorites. We have made some of the best memories seeing these groups when they come East. Unfortunately, most of them are Texas Country and only head our way a few times a year. By our way, I don't mean Albany. It is usually Atlanta, Tallahassee, Auburn or Grenville.
Luckily we have found friends in Albany who like the same groups we do. When we can't see them live, the next best thing is a jam session on the back porch with Brantlee playing their songs on his guitar and my "groupie" friends singing along.
Brantlee and I both turn 40 in 2013. Our birthday gift to each other is a trip to Austin, TX!
The Irony of it all...Brantlee got me started on this music and I left him at home with the kids Wednesday night to head to Auburn (with his blessing...somebody has to earn a paycheck and he had an 8:00 am meeting) to see Reckless Kelly at Bourbon Street Bar. 80 is how I felt after getting home at 4:00 am!
Saturday, November 3, 2012
A year later...
A doctor dumbed it down for me...a kid between the ages of 6-12 getting a concussion...their brain is roughly the size of a baseball inside a skull the size of a cantaloupe. When they suffer a head injury there is a great deal of space and fluid between the skull and brain making the impact quite severe. Once a boy goes through puberty, their brain is larger and there is less room between it and the skull decreasing the impact of a head on hit...make since???
After a great summer, in September, Clay's headaches came back with a vengeance. Why now? I don't know???
He went on a weekend church trip to Epworth, the minute he got off the bus I knew something was really wrong. He spent the next 3 days in the den, on the sofa, in the dark, curtains drawn...horrible, horrible headache. Day 4, I called his neurologist and he diagnosed it as a migraine (which I had already figured out.) He prescribed him a crazy (and scary to me) migraine cocktail. This cocktail consist of a steroid, 330 mg of naproxisodium, 400mg of magnesium and 5 mg of Magsalt. We were told to repeat the Magsalt if the headache was not gone in 2 hours but not to give him this cocktail more than 3 times in one week. After 2 hours, he was not much better. In the meantime, I had googled all these drugs and decided I knew better than the doctor and was too chicken to give him anymore. The following day started like the past 4 so I decided to give him all the drugs and come hell or high water I was not going to chicken out. It was truly amazing....like someone turned on a light switch. Less than an hour after the second dose of Magsalt, Clay was up and as nuts and active as ever. It was like the 5 days of suppressed energy had to come out. We went to the grocery store, the mall and out to lunch. It was a great day. The next day was just as good without any medication. My synopsis was, that he was now going to be prone to having migraines as a consequence of his concussion and PCS last year. I hated that, but felt like we had the medication to deal with it. The following Monday he was back at school and all was normal and great.
Fast forward a week. Brantlee took all of our children camping for the weekend. The minute Clay walked in the door, I could tell he was not doing good. He showered, laid around and went to bed. He woke up Monday morning and went to school. The nurse called me at 10:00 to come and pick him up. That was October 15. He has been home ever since (with a few exceptions of a couple of attempts that didn't last more than an hour or two.) Since then we have been back to Macon to meet with his neurologist and have started daily medication. He has good hours and bad hours, good days and bad days. Dr. Trasmontey told us it would take about 2 weeks for the medication to really start working. Well, we are on day 12 of the medication.
We have also seen Dr. Davis Kinny who discovered a severe misalignment in his C2 and C3 vertebrae. He explained it like a kink in a water hose. The spinal fluid and blood flow to the brain is not moving as it should. With a misalignment like this headaches are imminent because of the pooling of blood in the brain and the added pressure. With the tightness of Clay's neck muscles, he is certain his neck has been like this for a year, since his concussion. He had severe neck pain for a week after the hit and the doctors called it whiplash. It never crossed my mind to have a neck x-ray. Between Dr. Trasmontey's medication and Dr. Kinny's adjustments...I am hopeful that things are slowly getting better.
As of now, we are presuing Hospital Home Bound through the school system. He wants to go back to school so bad!!! He misses his friends, he misses his life, he is tired of these walls we live in. Dr. Trasmontey explained his headaches in a very interesting way. He said, sending a kid to school in Clay's condition is like sending a kid to PE with a broken leg. Thinking, concentrating, reading only triggers worse headaches...just like a kid with a broken leg playing kickball would be extremely painful, difficult and cause further damage.
All that being said...we are closer to him getting better today than we were yesterday. I am so hopeful that he will continue to improve. In the meantime, I wonder how in the world I landed here, a year later still dealing with his brain injury, on Hospital Home Bound...it blows my mind and breaks my heart to see him like this. However, if me telling Clay's story helps one child or changes one parents mind about their child playing football....I will continue to do it.
Honestly, I love the emails I have gotten from mother's telling me they did not allow their son to play football because of hearing Clay's story. My all time favorite was the email I received from a mom who told me that her husband was mad at me and that they got in a big fight because of this blog and Clay's story.
I know there is a huge chance your son could play football from the time they are 6-18 and nothing happen....but the stories, studies and medical proof is coming to light...it's a BRUTAL sport!!!
Everyone has their soap box....THIS IS MINE!
After a great summer, in September, Clay's headaches came back with a vengeance. Why now? I don't know???
He went on a weekend church trip to Epworth, the minute he got off the bus I knew something was really wrong. He spent the next 3 days in the den, on the sofa, in the dark, curtains drawn...horrible, horrible headache. Day 4, I called his neurologist and he diagnosed it as a migraine (which I had already figured out.) He prescribed him a crazy (and scary to me) migraine cocktail. This cocktail consist of a steroid, 330 mg of naproxisodium, 400mg of magnesium and 5 mg of Magsalt. We were told to repeat the Magsalt if the headache was not gone in 2 hours but not to give him this cocktail more than 3 times in one week. After 2 hours, he was not much better. In the meantime, I had googled all these drugs and decided I knew better than the doctor and was too chicken to give him anymore. The following day started like the past 4 so I decided to give him all the drugs and come hell or high water I was not going to chicken out. It was truly amazing....like someone turned on a light switch. Less than an hour after the second dose of Magsalt, Clay was up and as nuts and active as ever. It was like the 5 days of suppressed energy had to come out. We went to the grocery store, the mall and out to lunch. It was a great day. The next day was just as good without any medication. My synopsis was, that he was now going to be prone to having migraines as a consequence of his concussion and PCS last year. I hated that, but felt like we had the medication to deal with it. The following Monday he was back at school and all was normal and great.
Fast forward a week. Brantlee took all of our children camping for the weekend. The minute Clay walked in the door, I could tell he was not doing good. He showered, laid around and went to bed. He woke up Monday morning and went to school. The nurse called me at 10:00 to come and pick him up. That was October 15. He has been home ever since (with a few exceptions of a couple of attempts that didn't last more than an hour or two.) Since then we have been back to Macon to meet with his neurologist and have started daily medication. He has good hours and bad hours, good days and bad days. Dr. Trasmontey told us it would take about 2 weeks for the medication to really start working. Well, we are on day 12 of the medication.
We have also seen Dr. Davis Kinny who discovered a severe misalignment in his C2 and C3 vertebrae. He explained it like a kink in a water hose. The spinal fluid and blood flow to the brain is not moving as it should. With a misalignment like this headaches are imminent because of the pooling of blood in the brain and the added pressure. With the tightness of Clay's neck muscles, he is certain his neck has been like this for a year, since his concussion. He had severe neck pain for a week after the hit and the doctors called it whiplash. It never crossed my mind to have a neck x-ray. Between Dr. Trasmontey's medication and Dr. Kinny's adjustments...I am hopeful that things are slowly getting better.
As of now, we are presuing Hospital Home Bound through the school system. He wants to go back to school so bad!!! He misses his friends, he misses his life, he is tired of these walls we live in. Dr. Trasmontey explained his headaches in a very interesting way. He said, sending a kid to school in Clay's condition is like sending a kid to PE with a broken leg. Thinking, concentrating, reading only triggers worse headaches...just like a kid with a broken leg playing kickball would be extremely painful, difficult and cause further damage.
All that being said...we are closer to him getting better today than we were yesterday. I am so hopeful that he will continue to improve. In the meantime, I wonder how in the world I landed here, a year later still dealing with his brain injury, on Hospital Home Bound...it blows my mind and breaks my heart to see him like this. However, if me telling Clay's story helps one child or changes one parents mind about their child playing football....I will continue to do it.
Honestly, I love the emails I have gotten from mother's telling me they did not allow their son to play football because of hearing Clay's story. My all time favorite was the email I received from a mom who told me that her husband was mad at me and that they got in a big fight because of this blog and Clay's story.
I know there is a huge chance your son could play football from the time they are 6-18 and nothing happen....but the stories, studies and medical proof is coming to light...it's a BRUTAL sport!!!
Everyone has their soap box....THIS IS MINE!
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Football and your son's
This post is for all my friends who are debating whether or not to let their son's play football this fall. There are so many worse scenarios than ours but it has forever changed my thoughts, fears and opinions about football. If you saw me at Target today, I have my FSU t-shirt on. I LOVE football season!!! BUT---- do the research. There is nothing new under the sun with football....studies are just coming to light and concussions are a very popular topic for the media. BUT...when you know better you should do better. Get informed, get educated and make the best choice for your son!!
If interested, read my blog starting back last September.
For us, football is out for now. One year later Clay is still dealing with the aftermath of this.
If interested, read my blog starting back last September.
For us, football is out for now. One year later Clay is still dealing with the aftermath of this.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
For my children...
Today is Clay's 10th birthday. Last night I was telling him what it was like to be pregnant with him. I was telling him what I was doing the night before he was born and how shocked we were to find out about him. I realized that my memories were slipping and I wanted to write them down before I forgot all the funny, crazy and bazaar things that happened while I was pregnant with them...it's long and if you are not one of my children, it may bore you....but here it is....as I remember it....
Lawson & Logan's pregnancy...We lived in our first home, 510 Whippoorwill Road. Russell Suber was coming to visit for the weekend. I decided to take a pregnancy test before we went out to dinner and bowling. It was negative so I poured myself a glass of wine. Before we left the house, Brantlee went to the restroom. I heard him yell my name. I went to check on him and found him standing in the middle of the bathroom, holding the pregnancy test he had pulled out of the trash can. It had turned positive...apparently I did not wait long enough....now what? We went on with our weekend not wanting to say anything until we processed it ourselves or told our families. As most of my friends know, I am an open book and have a terrible time keeping my mouth shut. I was concerned Russell thought we were less then hospitable and basically acting like freaks most of the weekend, so of course I told him, he was the first to know. It seemed right, after all, he is the reason Brantlee and I met.
Within 2 weeks I was green and throwing up everything! I think I made it to work about 1/2 a day a week for the first 6 weeks...I was soon strapped with an IV backpack at home to keep me hydrated. After dropping 14 lbs and feeling like death for 4 months the doctor's FINALLY figured out I had pregnancy induced hyperthyroidism. AWESOME, I got the drugs I needed and felt GREAT!!! Three short weeks later (at 19 weeks) I was hospitalized for 3 days with preterm labor. Having Magnesium to stop the labor goes into my book as one of the top 3 worst experiences EVER! (But it worked, so, of course, I'm greatful1) I spent the next 4 1/2 months on my couch with 2-3 more trips to labor and delivery. My doctors promised me they would take me off bed rest at 36 weeks. We went to the doctor and had amazing plans to eat at San Jose' and then go to the movies....NOPE. The ultrasound showed that Baby B (Logan) had lost weight and after a few consultations with the specialist, they decided the girls would develop better in the NICU then inside of me. We were shocked, they would not even let us go home to pack a suitcase. That was Thursday, June 29. After 2 1/2 days of pitosin, pain and sheer insanity at 5:00 pm on Saturday night they decided to do a c-section. (We will get to that fact later!) Lawson was born first at 4lbs 8oz and Logan 1 minute later at 4lbs 1oz. They were sent to the NICU and spent the next 2 weeks there. I had a difficult c-section, lost a lot of blood, and had to be put to sleep....it was 24 hours before I was able to see my babies and longer before I was able to hold them. Thankfully, after a rocky first night, they thrived. Logan came home first. It was an exciting day to bring her home, but as a mom, it was excruciating to leave Lawson behind. But as you know....11 years later they are perfectly healthy.
Back to the c-section...I will never understand why I had to lay in bed, threatened by my doctors to stay flat on my back only to end up having 2 1/2 days of pitocin and jogging laps around the labor and delivery floor and NOTHING....those girls were not going anywhere, instead they had to be cut out. OK, that is my rant, and now I will go back to the silver lining of my beautiful healthy girls. I must also add that we have the best friends and church in the world. They fed me, cleaned my house, drove me to doctors appointments and even spent the night with me when Brantlee had to go out of town.
A special thanks to my friends who would indulge my craving by bringing me subway sandwiches with nothing but lettuce, a ton on pickles, mayo, salt & pepper. A funny memory as a new mommy, Lawson and Logan slept from July to January in their swings on high, in the den, watching CMT all night long. I was sure I was causing serious damage but every time I confessed this sin to their doctor he said it was fine. He would say, "you are in survival mode, do whatever works to get you all some sleep." My 2002 New Year's Resolution was to get them out of their swings and into their beds... I kept it!
Onto Clay, our HUGE ENORMOUS SURPRISE BLESSING!!! Lawson and Logan had just turned one and life was getting a bit more manageable. I had been feeling horrible for a few days and decided to go to the doctor. They did a pregnancy test, which I thought was COMPLETELY STUPID!! I was alone in the examining room with the door shut. I could hear the nurse and doctor outside talking...I heard, "her test was positive." By the time the doctor came in I was BAWLING...uncontrollably! She came in all smiles and immediately looked at me and said, "Oh sweety, are you not married anymore?" HAHAHA.....What??? Yes??? I got Lawson and Logan's one year picture out of my wallet, held it up and said, "Do you see this, they are ONE, I can't do this again!!!" Oh, and how many are in there?? I was terrified of another horrible pregnancy and how I would manage Lawson and Logan. Somehow I made it home. When Brantlee got home and found me curled up in a ball crying on the sofa he simply said, "We're pregnant aren't we?" I became hysterical and he just laughed and thought it was great....what's one more???? That same day my sister gave birth to her baby boy.
As with the girls, I was sick as a dog. I managed. I usually had a burst of non-nauseating energy around 11:00 every night. I would get plates out and cut up nutrigrain bars into tiny squares, dice ham and grapes, put goldfish in baggies...cover all this with Saran wrap and put it in the frig for the next day. When the girls woke up I would lock then in the den with the dogie gates and for breakfast crawl to the frig for the nutrigrain bars put them in the middle of the den floor, waaalaaa--breakfast, lunch, grab the plate of ham and grapes and the baggies during the day for snacks. I would lay on the sofa ALL DAY LONG! This is exactly where I was and what I was doing on September 11, 2001. I watched it first hand all day, everyday for months...
I hit some all time (funny) lows while pregnant with Clay...there were a few (ok, alot of) morning I simply poured the box of Cheerios into their baby beds and went back to bed myself. They would talk to each other for hours and play. God was watching over us and helped us all get through! I craved Mrs. Edwards Lemon Pie and Bluebird cream cheese danishes. I also REALLY, REALLY craved Steak & Shake cheeseburgers. I always threw them up but I ate them anyway. I would muster the energy to strap L&L in their car seats, drive the short distance to Steak & Shake, stuff my face between there and home, leave the girls in the car, run inside, throw up and then go back and get them out of the car. Thinking back, pregnancy really made me half insane, always irrational and mostly stupid!
The day Clay was born "Aunt Linda" took the day off work to keep the girls so our parents could be with us at the hospital. We had to be there at 5:30 but got bumped a few times. Clay was not born until 10:26. He was perfect. The girls went home with Brantlee's parents and mom stayed with us for the first week. At one week I went to have the staples removed and the incision opened...this was the start of a small little nightmare...I ended up with a home health care nurse coming to my house twice a day for 2 weeks cleaning and packing the c-section incision (GROSS!!!) I was a hormonal wreck. Because of the incision, the doctors wanted me to try not to be around people and especially Lawson and Logan for fear of getting a staff infection. Our parents swapped Lawson and Logan back and forth for the next 3 weeks. I missed them so much!!! I cried all the time and was so ready for us all to be together and start our lives as a family of 5. Soon after...we did!!
Fast forward 4 years and 2 houses later....it was the last day of Spring break. We came home to our 2001 Robinhood home. We had been at the beach and Brantlee brought home some fish he caught. I was starting laundry and piddling around the house when I got a whiff of the fish he was cooking and immediately ran to the bathroom and threw up.....the one child we actually planned was on her way.....and yes it was another green, toilet hugging pregnancy. (The tale must be true, you do forget about your previous pregnancies or nobody in their right mind would ever do it again!!! Thank you God for the capability to forget!) We had (unfortunately) planned and paid for a trip to Disney...I think I rode It's A Small World and Peter Pan. Other than that, my time was spent on benches or in the bathroom...God is good...I truly don't know how I survived that one. I would cover my eyes while the children were spinning on the Tea Cups and Carousel....uuggghhh....oh, I did the Jungle Cruise and the Tree House. I actualy begged a family I did not know that was in line with us to let Clay ride with them since they only had one child. Pretty low....I know!!!
At this point, Lawson and Logan were in school all day and Clay was at PDS from 9:00-1:00. I stayed in bed most of the time they were at school. This was when Clay began his love affair with Lego's and Power Rangers. I ordered a "lot of 15" used Power Ranger movies off eBay and would pull one out at a time when he was tired of the last one. He would watch movies and play Lego's happily and quietly everyday from 1:00-3:00. By 6 months I was feeling good and I was so thankful!!! I had a discussting craving of Marshmallow cream and cheese Doritos...I actually dipped the Doritos in the marshmallow cream. I kept a jar of it on my bed side table. The good side of vomiting the first 6 months of pregnancy is that my weight was never an issue....haha.
On November 28, we were on our way to Pheobe. I remember being ticked at Brantlee for stopping by McDonald's at 6:00 am coming out with yummy smelling coffee and a sausage biscuit. I think my exact quote was, "In less than an hour I will be having a needle shoved in my spine and my gut sliced open....and you are going to eat at a time like this!!!" Turns out, I'm glad he did, he got pretty queasy during little E's delivery. Dr. Smurda said, "stand up daddy, look!" Well, only her head was out...not what Brantlee thought he was about to see." She was perfect! We were home in a few days and life was smooth...for 2 weeks...until the Friday of Christmas holidays. Lawson came home from school with a high fever and was diagnosed with the Flu. My pediatrician asked me to take Evelyn to my parents. I was horrified...I went to Quincy, crying on the phone to Amy the whole way, Clay got the flu too....Brantlee was home with 3 kids, 2 of them sick, trying to finalize his year end sales and I was a helpless, heap, of a crying basket case in Quincy. I wanted to be with Lawson and Clay so bad but did not want to quit nursing Evelyn and leave her at mom's...I was torn apart! I thought we were not going to be together as a family for Christmas. The doctor wanted the whole crew fever free for 3 days before Evelyn and I returned. We ended up getting back together on Christmas Eve at Brantlee's families house. It was a happy day for me!!!
I love the four of you so much...you have one emotional mom...looking back, getting you here was such a preivilge and exciting journey with God's hand on us all the way...you are my heart and soul....I try to live everyday as a gift and not a guarantee...what an adventure these last 11 years have been.
April 26, 2012
Lawson & Logan - 11
Clay - 10
Evelyn -5
Lawson & Logan's pregnancy...We lived in our first home, 510 Whippoorwill Road. Russell Suber was coming to visit for the weekend. I decided to take a pregnancy test before we went out to dinner and bowling. It was negative so I poured myself a glass of wine. Before we left the house, Brantlee went to the restroom. I heard him yell my name. I went to check on him and found him standing in the middle of the bathroom, holding the pregnancy test he had pulled out of the trash can. It had turned positive...apparently I did not wait long enough....now what? We went on with our weekend not wanting to say anything until we processed it ourselves or told our families. As most of my friends know, I am an open book and have a terrible time keeping my mouth shut. I was concerned Russell thought we were less then hospitable and basically acting like freaks most of the weekend, so of course I told him, he was the first to know. It seemed right, after all, he is the reason Brantlee and I met.
Within 2 weeks I was green and throwing up everything! I think I made it to work about 1/2 a day a week for the first 6 weeks...I was soon strapped with an IV backpack at home to keep me hydrated. After dropping 14 lbs and feeling like death for 4 months the doctor's FINALLY figured out I had pregnancy induced hyperthyroidism. AWESOME, I got the drugs I needed and felt GREAT!!! Three short weeks later (at 19 weeks) I was hospitalized for 3 days with preterm labor. Having Magnesium to stop the labor goes into my book as one of the top 3 worst experiences EVER! (But it worked, so, of course, I'm greatful1) I spent the next 4 1/2 months on my couch with 2-3 more trips to labor and delivery. My doctors promised me they would take me off bed rest at 36 weeks. We went to the doctor and had amazing plans to eat at San Jose' and then go to the movies....NOPE. The ultrasound showed that Baby B (Logan) had lost weight and after a few consultations with the specialist, they decided the girls would develop better in the NICU then inside of me. We were shocked, they would not even let us go home to pack a suitcase. That was Thursday, June 29. After 2 1/2 days of pitosin, pain and sheer insanity at 5:00 pm on Saturday night they decided to do a c-section. (We will get to that fact later!) Lawson was born first at 4lbs 8oz and Logan 1 minute later at 4lbs 1oz. They were sent to the NICU and spent the next 2 weeks there. I had a difficult c-section, lost a lot of blood, and had to be put to sleep....it was 24 hours before I was able to see my babies and longer before I was able to hold them. Thankfully, after a rocky first night, they thrived. Logan came home first. It was an exciting day to bring her home, but as a mom, it was excruciating to leave Lawson behind. But as you know....11 years later they are perfectly healthy.
Back to the c-section...I will never understand why I had to lay in bed, threatened by my doctors to stay flat on my back only to end up having 2 1/2 days of pitocin and jogging laps around the labor and delivery floor and NOTHING....those girls were not going anywhere, instead they had to be cut out. OK, that is my rant, and now I will go back to the silver lining of my beautiful healthy girls. I must also add that we have the best friends and church in the world. They fed me, cleaned my house, drove me to doctors appointments and even spent the night with me when Brantlee had to go out of town.
A special thanks to my friends who would indulge my craving by bringing me subway sandwiches with nothing but lettuce, a ton on pickles, mayo, salt & pepper. A funny memory as a new mommy, Lawson and Logan slept from July to January in their swings on high, in the den, watching CMT all night long. I was sure I was causing serious damage but every time I confessed this sin to their doctor he said it was fine. He would say, "you are in survival mode, do whatever works to get you all some sleep." My 2002 New Year's Resolution was to get them out of their swings and into their beds... I kept it!
Onto Clay, our HUGE ENORMOUS SURPRISE BLESSING!!! Lawson and Logan had just turned one and life was getting a bit more manageable. I had been feeling horrible for a few days and decided to go to the doctor. They did a pregnancy test, which I thought was COMPLETELY STUPID!! I was alone in the examining room with the door shut. I could hear the nurse and doctor outside talking...I heard, "her test was positive." By the time the doctor came in I was BAWLING...uncontrollably! She came in all smiles and immediately looked at me and said, "Oh sweety, are you not married anymore?" HAHAHA.....What??? Yes??? I got Lawson and Logan's one year picture out of my wallet, held it up and said, "Do you see this, they are ONE, I can't do this again!!!" Oh, and how many are in there?? I was terrified of another horrible pregnancy and how I would manage Lawson and Logan. Somehow I made it home. When Brantlee got home and found me curled up in a ball crying on the sofa he simply said, "We're pregnant aren't we?" I became hysterical and he just laughed and thought it was great....what's one more???? That same day my sister gave birth to her baby boy.
As with the girls, I was sick as a dog. I managed. I usually had a burst of non-nauseating energy around 11:00 every night. I would get plates out and cut up nutrigrain bars into tiny squares, dice ham and grapes, put goldfish in baggies...cover all this with Saran wrap and put it in the frig for the next day. When the girls woke up I would lock then in the den with the dogie gates and for breakfast crawl to the frig for the nutrigrain bars put them in the middle of the den floor, waaalaaa--breakfast, lunch, grab the plate of ham and grapes and the baggies during the day for snacks. I would lay on the sofa ALL DAY LONG! This is exactly where I was and what I was doing on September 11, 2001. I watched it first hand all day, everyday for months...
I hit some all time (funny) lows while pregnant with Clay...there were a few (ok, alot of) morning I simply poured the box of Cheerios into their baby beds and went back to bed myself. They would talk to each other for hours and play. God was watching over us and helped us all get through! I craved Mrs. Edwards Lemon Pie and Bluebird cream cheese danishes. I also REALLY, REALLY craved Steak & Shake cheeseburgers. I always threw them up but I ate them anyway. I would muster the energy to strap L&L in their car seats, drive the short distance to Steak & Shake, stuff my face between there and home, leave the girls in the car, run inside, throw up and then go back and get them out of the car. Thinking back, pregnancy really made me half insane, always irrational and mostly stupid!
The day Clay was born "Aunt Linda" took the day off work to keep the girls so our parents could be with us at the hospital. We had to be there at 5:30 but got bumped a few times. Clay was not born until 10:26. He was perfect. The girls went home with Brantlee's parents and mom stayed with us for the first week. At one week I went to have the staples removed and the incision opened...this was the start of a small little nightmare...I ended up with a home health care nurse coming to my house twice a day for 2 weeks cleaning and packing the c-section incision (GROSS!!!) I was a hormonal wreck. Because of the incision, the doctors wanted me to try not to be around people and especially Lawson and Logan for fear of getting a staff infection. Our parents swapped Lawson and Logan back and forth for the next 3 weeks. I missed them so much!!! I cried all the time and was so ready for us all to be together and start our lives as a family of 5. Soon after...we did!!
Fast forward 4 years and 2 houses later....it was the last day of Spring break. We came home to our 2001 Robinhood home. We had been at the beach and Brantlee brought home some fish he caught. I was starting laundry and piddling around the house when I got a whiff of the fish he was cooking and immediately ran to the bathroom and threw up.....the one child we actually planned was on her way.....and yes it was another green, toilet hugging pregnancy. (The tale must be true, you do forget about your previous pregnancies or nobody in their right mind would ever do it again!!! Thank you God for the capability to forget!) We had (unfortunately) planned and paid for a trip to Disney...I think I rode It's A Small World and Peter Pan. Other than that, my time was spent on benches or in the bathroom...God is good...I truly don't know how I survived that one. I would cover my eyes while the children were spinning on the Tea Cups and Carousel....uuggghhh....oh, I did the Jungle Cruise and the Tree House. I actualy begged a family I did not know that was in line with us to let Clay ride with them since they only had one child. Pretty low....I know!!!
At this point, Lawson and Logan were in school all day and Clay was at PDS from 9:00-1:00. I stayed in bed most of the time they were at school. This was when Clay began his love affair with Lego's and Power Rangers. I ordered a "lot of 15" used Power Ranger movies off eBay and would pull one out at a time when he was tired of the last one. He would watch movies and play Lego's happily and quietly everyday from 1:00-3:00. By 6 months I was feeling good and I was so thankful!!! I had a discussting craving of Marshmallow cream and cheese Doritos...I actually dipped the Doritos in the marshmallow cream. I kept a jar of it on my bed side table. The good side of vomiting the first 6 months of pregnancy is that my weight was never an issue....haha.
On November 28, we were on our way to Pheobe. I remember being ticked at Brantlee for stopping by McDonald's at 6:00 am coming out with yummy smelling coffee and a sausage biscuit. I think my exact quote was, "In less than an hour I will be having a needle shoved in my spine and my gut sliced open....and you are going to eat at a time like this!!!" Turns out, I'm glad he did, he got pretty queasy during little E's delivery. Dr. Smurda said, "stand up daddy, look!" Well, only her head was out...not what Brantlee thought he was about to see." She was perfect! We were home in a few days and life was smooth...for 2 weeks...until the Friday of Christmas holidays. Lawson came home from school with a high fever and was diagnosed with the Flu. My pediatrician asked me to take Evelyn to my parents. I was horrified...I went to Quincy, crying on the phone to Amy the whole way, Clay got the flu too....Brantlee was home with 3 kids, 2 of them sick, trying to finalize his year end sales and I was a helpless, heap, of a crying basket case in Quincy. I wanted to be with Lawson and Clay so bad but did not want to quit nursing Evelyn and leave her at mom's...I was torn apart! I thought we were not going to be together as a family for Christmas. The doctor wanted the whole crew fever free for 3 days before Evelyn and I returned. We ended up getting back together on Christmas Eve at Brantlee's families house. It was a happy day for me!!!
I love the four of you so much...you have one emotional mom...looking back, getting you here was such a preivilge and exciting journey with God's hand on us all the way...you are my heart and soul....I try to live everyday as a gift and not a guarantee...what an adventure these last 11 years have been.
April 26, 2012
Lawson & Logan - 11
Clay - 10
Evelyn -5
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
A mom's opinion
This is a letter I sent to the football organization Clay played under last fall. I hope my FB friends will read this, especially if you have a son. If anything, I hope it peaks your interest and you will do your own research of the dangers of football in young children. Football is dangerous....but I am pretty sure it will not matter until it personally affects your family. I just want my opinion heard....
The Children's football program has been heavy on my heart. This is not an attack or a finger pointing letter, it prayerfully comes from a mom with a sick child. After praying about this for months and watching Clay struggle I just want my opinion heard. What readers do with it, will be up to them. I am not against kids playing football, I just want parents to make informed decisions and for precautions to be put into place in order to make the game as safe for our kids as possible.
Since Clay's concussion I have spent countless hours reading and researching concussions and more importantly second impact syndrome (SIS.) (The statistics are alarming in young children!!!!) I'm just a mom, not a physician or sports trainer. I signed my child up to play football because that is what he wanted to do. I bought a used helmet and pads. It never crossed my mind to think anything more than bruises or a possible broken bone would happen to him. The night of the concussion he asked to go back into the game. I whole heartily believe that if a teammates wonderful dad (I wish I knew his name, who used to commentate the arena football in Albany) had not told him he should sit out, we would be dealing with a completely different situation here.
Clay missed close to 5 full weeks of school and eventually went back 1/2 days until he could handle the full day. When he did make it through the full days of school he would lay on the sofa until bed time. We are still under the care of Dr. Trasmonty, in Macon, a pediatric neurologist . We go back next week for another appointment. Since the concussion, Clay has been on a low dose antidepressant which helps calm the central nervous system helping with the headaches. He has had to drop out of his challenge groups at school due to the amount of work and headaches. The harder he concentrates the more often the headaches. He has always been an A student. Now, depending on how much sleep he has and how his head is feeling his grades have slipped (which is the least of my worries.) He used to get in bed at night and read 30-40 pages in his AR book. Now, he can only read around 10 pages. To see Clay you would not see a thing wrong with him. He is non-stop motion and action, all boy and then some, riding his bike, shooting baskets, ripstiking, ziplining, climbing trees....he appears normal. But as his mom, let me assure you, he is not. He was easily upset, has trouble with focusing for long periods of time, and still has headaches and trouble sleeping.
I know this is not the worse case scenario but for us it has been a hard 5 months.
With Clay's injury the ambulance never came over, nobody called it. I was told I could take him home and 5 minutes down the road I realized how sick he was, dizzy, screaming from a headache. We went straight to the ER where he failed the cognitive test and was sent directly for an MRI. It wasn't until the next day that I found out paramedics were on sight? There seemed to be a breakdown of communication between coaches/trainers/paramedics. Again, I am not pointing a finger anywhere. I am mostly angry at myself for not insisting more be done.
Another very dangerous aspect to all of this is that the children want to play. The players "lie" and shake off their injuries so they can get back out there...play through the pain...which when you are dealing with a head injury, playing through the pain can be fatal.
I have prayerfully thought about what a mom like me can do...but I have to speak my peace. I feel so passionately that parents are not MISINFORMED but UNINFORMED and as the organization providing the activity there needs to be something changed...in my humble opinion.
My thoughts are...
A mandatory parent meeting, explaining safety equipment, getting a helmet fitted properly (not buying it off Craig's list, like we did.)
A quick explanation of concussion symptoms, how to recognize them and the fatal danger of SIS.
A paramedic always on campus during games and called for all head injuries.
The term "bell ringer" should be forever changed to mild brain injury.
If possible, there may be athlete's parents in the medical profession that could volunteer to "stand-by" at practices.
--
Ramsey Lawrence
2526 Pheasant Drive
Albany, GA 31707
229 886 3332
--
The Children's football program has been heavy on my heart. This is not an attack or a finger pointing letter, it prayerfully comes from a mom with a sick child. After praying about this for months and watching Clay struggle I just want my opinion heard. What readers do with it, will be up to them. I am not against kids playing football, I just want parents to make informed decisions and for precautions to be put into place in order to make the game as safe for our kids as possible.
Since Clay's concussion I have spent countless hours reading and researching concussions and more importantly second impact syndrome (SIS.) (The statistics are alarming in young children!!!!) I'm just a mom, not a physician or sports trainer. I signed my child up to play football because that is what he wanted to do. I bought a used helmet and pads. It never crossed my mind to think anything more than bruises or a possible broken bone would happen to him. The night of the concussion he asked to go back into the game. I whole heartily believe that if a teammates wonderful dad (I wish I knew his name, who used to commentate the arena football in Albany) had not told him he should sit out, we would be dealing with a completely different situation here.
Clay missed close to 5 full weeks of school and eventually went back 1/2 days until he could handle the full day. When he did make it through the full days of school he would lay on the sofa until bed time. We are still under the care of Dr. Trasmonty, in Macon, a pediatric neurologist . We go back next week for another appointment. Since the concussion, Clay has been on a low dose antidepressant which helps calm the central nervous system helping with the headaches. He has had to drop out of his challenge groups at school due to the amount of work and headaches. The harder he concentrates the more often the headaches. He has always been an A student. Now, depending on how much sleep he has and how his head is feeling his grades have slipped (which is the least of my worries.) He used to get in bed at night and read 30-40 pages in his AR book. Now, he can only read around 10 pages. To see Clay you would not see a thing wrong with him. He is non-stop motion and action, all boy and then some, riding his bike, shooting baskets, ripstiking, ziplining, climbing trees....he appears normal. But as his mom, let me assure you, he is not. He was easily upset, has trouble with focusing for long periods of time, and still has headaches and trouble sleeping.
I know this is not the worse case scenario but for us it has been a hard 5 months.
With Clay's injury the ambulance never came over, nobody called it. I was told I could take him home and 5 minutes down the road I realized how sick he was, dizzy, screaming from a headache. We went straight to the ER where he failed the cognitive test and was sent directly for an MRI. It wasn't until the next day that I found out paramedics were on sight? There seemed to be a breakdown of communication between coaches/trainers/paramedics. Again, I am not pointing a finger anywhere. I am mostly angry at myself for not insisting more be done.
Another very dangerous aspect to all of this is that the children want to play. The players "lie" and shake off their injuries so they can get back out there...play through the pain...which when you are dealing with a head injury, playing through the pain can be fatal.
I have prayerfully thought about what a mom like me can do...but I have to speak my peace. I feel so passionately that parents are not MISINFORMED but UNINFORMED and as the organization providing the activity there needs to be something changed...in my humble opinion.
My thoughts are...
A mandatory parent meeting, explaining safety equipment, getting a helmet fitted properly (not buying it off Craig's list, like we did.)
A quick explanation of concussion symptoms, how to recognize them and the fatal danger of SIS.
A paramedic always on campus during games and called for all head injuries.
The term "bell ringer" should be forever changed to mild brain injury.
If possible, there may be athlete's parents in the medical profession that could volunteer to "stand-by" at practices.
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Ramsey Lawrence
2526 Pheasant Drive
Albany, GA 31707
229 886 3332
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Sunday, November 6, 2011
Its been a while
I have started a few blog entries that I have never finished because the events of life come and stop me mid-thought...I am not sure where I was going with any of them but I like to look back at where we were and what was going on...we have come a long way in 6 weeks...thankful, thankful...
Start of week 2 of Clay's concussion...
Having a sick child is nothing new to any mother out there...no mom is exempt from the worries we face! I give my worries to God but I am weary. To hear your child cry out in their sleep in pain is heart breaking. You jump up, run to their side and they are asleep. Thankful that the pain did not wake them up, you ease back in bed, just to hear it again and again. The gray circles under Clay's eyes reveal a lack of restful sleep and your day starts...and there is no make up in the world to make me appear rested!
I know God is in control of this situation and I am trying DESPERATELY to trade in my worrying ways for prayer. I think I have fallen sound asleep the past 12 nights praying. I love falling asleep praying...it is peaceful...until you wake up to the moans and cries of your child and you start the cycle over again.
In my prayers I count my blessing one by one. Boy, am I blessed with an incredible husband that loves me, loves our children and is the Christian leader of our home. I count that blessing first. Then I pray for each one of our children. Everyone thinks their kids are awesome....I feel no different! Each one of them are special, different....
Start of Clay's 3rd week out of school
WOW....Happy Monday
Wake up at 4:00 am when Brantlee's alarm goes off. He has a 6:00 am flight out of Albany this morning....this is his 13th flight in 3 weeks....it is getting a little old. BUT...after this week there are no trips on his calendar for a while. After getting Brantlee out the door, I lay back down but never go back to sleep. After laying awake for close to 3 hours I hear a loud crash and about 20 seconds later a scream! My first thought was...oh hell...now what? It was Evelyn, she fell out of her bed and knocked her eye on her bedside table. I got her to my bed screaming, settled her down, turned on the light and see a huge goose egg.
At this moment I have a choice to make. I can crawl under the covers and dread the rest of my day (which lately has been my go-to behavior)...feeling sorry for myself that I have been up for 3 hours, Brantlee is gone, yet another week, Evelyn now has a black eye and Clay is not getting any better, and it is only 6:45...or....I can get up and get moving. I make a very conscious decision to not let the past 3 hours set the stage for my week.
I head to the kitchen turn my ipod on as loud as I can and wake up the rest of the house. We have tried many ways to wake up the children. We have the standard alarm clock or sitting on their bedside rubbing their heads telling them nicely to get up. When that does not work I sing to them, "it's time to get up, up, up open your eyes..." They HATE that. I love to send Clay upstairs and let him beat the heck out of Lawson's drums. That always ends very badly but is too funny to resist sometimes. This morning I go with our other option....blare my ipod in the kitchen while making breakfast..
Last week...
Well, I think it has been a month or so since I last blogged...I am now blogging because my To Do list it way to long to deal with. This seems to be the better option. I need to make soup for the LPE teachers and we are having Brantlee's customers over for dinner tomorrow night. Most items on my list have to do with cooking and cleaning. My other items are "fun" things like thank you notes, returning clothes to the mall and finishing laundry. Blogging is definitely a better option.
We have had a very eventful month. We have traveled to Pensacola for my cousins wedding, to Live Oak for Brantlee's 20th class reunion and to Atlanta for fall break and a concert. I am never sure what possess us to pack up and go so much. We love being home but sometimes I think we love the road more. The children are great travelers. Don't get me wrong, some trips are horrendous and Brantlee and I swear to talk each other out of doing it again. But, inevitably, we pack up and go again and again and again.
At Liz's wedding we had so much fun showing LLCE around UWF campus in Pensacola. We parked in the South side dorm parking lot and showed the children where their daddy and I met.....told them how he was carrying his comforter and a box of GAIN. I knew then, a man that could do laundry was a keeper. We showed them which dorm he and Mr. Russell lived in and which one Sam and I were in. We walked to the ADPi dorm and the Commons. I felt pretty old...it was a feeling of nostalgia...sad but happy, missing those days but so thankful for the family and life I have now. The last thing we did was head to the book store where I bought a UWF tag and UWF Tervus tumbler. The tag on my car makes me laugh every time I see it. Argonauts??? What is an Argonaut and why is there a sea shell on your tag? UWF was not the most famous college around but it was a blast!!!
As for today, November 6, 2011, life is good. I guess we will always have ridiculous things happen in our family, the latest being Clay's trip to the optometrist (Tuesday) after his glow stick broke and squirted the glowing liquid in his eye....things like that I am guessing we will never be exempt from...But for now we are good. The kids all have company and are playing soccer in the front yard, Brantlee will be home this week and Clay has been back in school for 2 weeks. He feels good most of the time. He would say he is 80% back to normal. He no longer has a constant headache, which is great. The only issues we have now are headaches after a lot of reading and concentration and after playing for a long period of time. I am ready for him to be 100% but am so thankful at how much he has improved. We head back to the neurologist in Macon on Thursday and to spend the weekend with Amy...along with a Reckless Kelly concert for my birthday, Friday night...should be another good week for the Lawrence's.
Start of week 2 of Clay's concussion...
Having a sick child is nothing new to any mother out there...no mom is exempt from the worries we face! I give my worries to God but I am weary. To hear your child cry out in their sleep in pain is heart breaking. You jump up, run to their side and they are asleep. Thankful that the pain did not wake them up, you ease back in bed, just to hear it again and again. The gray circles under Clay's eyes reveal a lack of restful sleep and your day starts...and there is no make up in the world to make me appear rested!
I know God is in control of this situation and I am trying DESPERATELY to trade in my worrying ways for prayer. I think I have fallen sound asleep the past 12 nights praying. I love falling asleep praying...it is peaceful...until you wake up to the moans and cries of your child and you start the cycle over again.
In my prayers I count my blessing one by one. Boy, am I blessed with an incredible husband that loves me, loves our children and is the Christian leader of our home. I count that blessing first. Then I pray for each one of our children. Everyone thinks their kids are awesome....I feel no different! Each one of them are special, different....
Start of Clay's 3rd week out of school
WOW....Happy Monday
Wake up at 4:00 am when Brantlee's alarm goes off. He has a 6:00 am flight out of Albany this morning....this is his 13th flight in 3 weeks....it is getting a little old. BUT...after this week there are no trips on his calendar for a while. After getting Brantlee out the door, I lay back down but never go back to sleep. After laying awake for close to 3 hours I hear a loud crash and about 20 seconds later a scream! My first thought was...oh hell...now what? It was Evelyn, she fell out of her bed and knocked her eye on her bedside table. I got her to my bed screaming, settled her down, turned on the light and see a huge goose egg.
At this moment I have a choice to make. I can crawl under the covers and dread the rest of my day (which lately has been my go-to behavior)...feeling sorry for myself that I have been up for 3 hours, Brantlee is gone, yet another week, Evelyn now has a black eye and Clay is not getting any better, and it is only 6:45...or....I can get up and get moving. I make a very conscious decision to not let the past 3 hours set the stage for my week.
I head to the kitchen turn my ipod on as loud as I can and wake up the rest of the house. We have tried many ways to wake up the children. We have the standard alarm clock or sitting on their bedside rubbing their heads telling them nicely to get up. When that does not work I sing to them, "it's time to get up, up, up open your eyes..." They HATE that. I love to send Clay upstairs and let him beat the heck out of Lawson's drums. That always ends very badly but is too funny to resist sometimes. This morning I go with our other option....blare my ipod in the kitchen while making breakfast..
Last week...
Well, I think it has been a month or so since I last blogged...I am now blogging because my To Do list it way to long to deal with. This seems to be the better option. I need to make soup for the LPE teachers and we are having Brantlee's customers over for dinner tomorrow night. Most items on my list have to do with cooking and cleaning. My other items are "fun" things like thank you notes, returning clothes to the mall and finishing laundry. Blogging is definitely a better option.
We have had a very eventful month. We have traveled to Pensacola for my cousins wedding, to Live Oak for Brantlee's 20th class reunion and to Atlanta for fall break and a concert. I am never sure what possess us to pack up and go so much. We love being home but sometimes I think we love the road more. The children are great travelers. Don't get me wrong, some trips are horrendous and Brantlee and I swear to talk each other out of doing it again. But, inevitably, we pack up and go again and again and again.
At Liz's wedding we had so much fun showing LLCE around UWF campus in Pensacola. We parked in the South side dorm parking lot and showed the children where their daddy and I met.....told them how he was carrying his comforter and a box of GAIN. I knew then, a man that could do laundry was a keeper. We showed them which dorm he and Mr. Russell lived in and which one Sam and I were in. We walked to the ADPi dorm and the Commons. I felt pretty old...it was a feeling of nostalgia...sad but happy, missing those days but so thankful for the family and life I have now. The last thing we did was head to the book store where I bought a UWF tag and UWF Tervus tumbler. The tag on my car makes me laugh every time I see it. Argonauts??? What is an Argonaut and why is there a sea shell on your tag? UWF was not the most famous college around but it was a blast!!!
As for today, November 6, 2011, life is good. I guess we will always have ridiculous things happen in our family, the latest being Clay's trip to the optometrist (Tuesday) after his glow stick broke and squirted the glowing liquid in his eye....things like that I am guessing we will never be exempt from...But for now we are good. The kids all have company and are playing soccer in the front yard, Brantlee will be home this week and Clay has been back in school for 2 weeks. He feels good most of the time. He would say he is 80% back to normal. He no longer has a constant headache, which is great. The only issues we have now are headaches after a lot of reading and concentration and after playing for a long period of time. I am ready for him to be 100% but am so thankful at how much he has improved. We head back to the neurologist in Macon on Thursday and to spend the weekend with Amy...along with a Reckless Kelly concert for my birthday, Friday night...should be another good week for the Lawrence's.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Half Full
What a wonderful fall break!
Thursday morning the kids slept in as Brantlee and I enjoyed a few cups of coffee on the back porch...the weather was perfect. Early morning, cool, crisp air with beautiful blue skies! Soon we heard footsteps emerging on us. Four sweet sleepy eyed kids so excited to be headed to Cumming to visit their cousins. After convincing them to let us finish our last cup of coffee it was game on...get dressed, rush around, pack, feed the cat...and we are off!
While we had lunch in Columbus, Brantlee asked me how I would feel about driving through Atlanta. (Haven't we been married for 15 years...doesn't he know I HATE driving through Atlanta?) With a little bit of attitude I responded, "if you needed to work on the way up, couldn't you have at least done it between Albany and Columbus?" Little did I know he had a Lawrence side adventure in mind. (Why was a surprised? This is Brantlee. Of course he did.) Then came his "great" plan. He wanted me to drop the 5 of them off at the Atlanta airport and let them ride Marta to the North Springs exit. ARE YOU CRAZY? WHAT ? WHY? And in true Brantlee fashion, he responded, Why not? It would be a fun new experience for children... interesting, entertaining and a bit educational. Well okay! I dropped them off and white knuckled it through downtown. The kids thought it was great. They jumped back in the car and started telling me about it all at the same time. Who knew Marta could be so fun? And as always, they tell me how "cool" and "awesome" their daddy is!
The children were thrilled to be at their cousins house and I was extremely happy to be out of the car. Amy and I had a great time catching up...enjoying the weather on her porch. She was keeping the children for us Friday night. Brantlee and I had made plans to see Chris Knight at Smith's Old Bar. We left Friday morning and enjoyed a fun, kid free, day and night. We met up with friends for lunch and dinner. It has been a long difficult 3 weeks of Brantlee traveling and me home with Clay...it was so nice to have some time to ourselves.(Thank you, Aunt Amy!!!) Saturday morning we headed back to Amy's for a day and night of football, pool (in their AWESOME newly refinished basement) and grilling out!
Sunday morning rolled around and it was time to head south...back to reality! I was cranky and the children did not want to leave...this should be a fun ride home. As we headed south on 75 the walls seemed to close in on me...I could feel the anxiety creeping up... QUESTIONS...THOUGHTS...DREADS...here we go again...Brantlee is flying to North Carolina tomorrow...gone all week...how will Clay do this week...school...no school...STOP...have a chat with God, readjust my attitude...I refuse to dread a week that has not even started...I am tired, yet refreshed from a nice relaxing weekend...it's going to be alright...REGROUP...be positive...focus on all the blessings...be thankful!!! (I stop and wonder if other people talk to themeselves as much as I talk to myself?)
Is my glass going to be half empty or half full this week...I know the last 3 weeks it has been a toss-up depending on the hour or minute you asked me...but not this week, regardless of what we have going on, where Brantlee travels, or how Clay feels...this week, the glass is half full!
I am happy to report that as of right now, Clay is at school. I am half way through the laundry and my grocery list. This week is going to a good one! Next weekend we are headed to Pensacola for Elizabeth's wedding. What a special time for her and our family. My glass may be completely full before this week is up!
Thursday morning the kids slept in as Brantlee and I enjoyed a few cups of coffee on the back porch...the weather was perfect. Early morning, cool, crisp air with beautiful blue skies! Soon we heard footsteps emerging on us. Four sweet sleepy eyed kids so excited to be headed to Cumming to visit their cousins. After convincing them to let us finish our last cup of coffee it was game on...get dressed, rush around, pack, feed the cat...and we are off!
While we had lunch in Columbus, Brantlee asked me how I would feel about driving through Atlanta. (Haven't we been married for 15 years...doesn't he know I HATE driving through Atlanta?) With a little bit of attitude I responded, "if you needed to work on the way up, couldn't you have at least done it between Albany and Columbus?" Little did I know he had a Lawrence side adventure in mind. (Why was a surprised? This is Brantlee. Of course he did.) Then came his "great" plan. He wanted me to drop the 5 of them off at the Atlanta airport and let them ride Marta to the North Springs exit. ARE YOU CRAZY? WHAT ? WHY? And in true Brantlee fashion, he responded, Why not? It would be a fun new experience for children... interesting, entertaining and a bit educational. Well okay! I dropped them off and white knuckled it through downtown. The kids thought it was great. They jumped back in the car and started telling me about it all at the same time. Who knew Marta could be so fun? And as always, they tell me how "cool" and "awesome" their daddy is!
The children were thrilled to be at their cousins house and I was extremely happy to be out of the car. Amy and I had a great time catching up...enjoying the weather on her porch. She was keeping the children for us Friday night. Brantlee and I had made plans to see Chris Knight at Smith's Old Bar. We left Friday morning and enjoyed a fun, kid free, day and night. We met up with friends for lunch and dinner. It has been a long difficult 3 weeks of Brantlee traveling and me home with Clay...it was so nice to have some time to ourselves.(Thank you, Aunt Amy!!!) Saturday morning we headed back to Amy's for a day and night of football, pool (in their AWESOME newly refinished basement) and grilling out!
Sunday morning rolled around and it was time to head south...back to reality! I was cranky and the children did not want to leave...this should be a fun ride home. As we headed south on 75 the walls seemed to close in on me...I could feel the anxiety creeping up... QUESTIONS...THOUGHTS...DREADS...here we go again...Brantlee is flying to North Carolina tomorrow...gone all week...how will Clay do this week...school...no school...STOP...have a chat with God, readjust my attitude...I refuse to dread a week that has not even started...I am tired, yet refreshed from a nice relaxing weekend...it's going to be alright...REGROUP...be positive...focus on all the blessings...be thankful!!! (I stop and wonder if other people talk to themeselves as much as I talk to myself?)
Is my glass going to be half empty or half full this week...I know the last 3 weeks it has been a toss-up depending on the hour or minute you asked me...but not this week, regardless of what we have going on, where Brantlee travels, or how Clay feels...this week, the glass is half full!
I am happy to report that as of right now, Clay is at school. I am half way through the laundry and my grocery list. This week is going to a good one! Next weekend we are headed to Pensacola for Elizabeth's wedding. What a special time for her and our family. My glass may be completely full before this week is up!
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Frustration
Frustration: The only word that comes to mind...
Oh, I know things will be okay, eventually, and that there are people with terminal illnesses, fighting battles with cancer, spouses headed off to war....my troubles don't amount to a hill of beans compared to theirs...but to me, today, they feel like mountains...
The way it has all gone down...because the days are running together
September 15- Clay takes a hard hit in his football game. "He is fine," says all the men on the field. We head home...my "mommy-dar" goes off...we head to the ER where they confirm a concussion. Should be better in a few days.
September 16- Check in with Dr. Wahbeh like ER doctor told us too. Clay is completely dazed and confused but he should be notably better by Monday. We have a rough weekend.
September 19 -We send him to school. The doc said he would be better but not to return to activities for 2 week. He returns from school and crumbles into pieces...terrible day, terrible headache. I now look back on my blog the day before...I knew something was wrong. I did not listen to my "mommy-dar" I knew better...I knew he was not right!
September 20- Go back to the doctor. Okay, the concussion is worse than we thought. Stay home the rest of the week. Take Tylenol with Codeine for the pain and sleeplessness. Check in with him next Monday before sending him back.
September 26- 12 days after the concussion...head to Dr. Wahbeh's office, he walks in the room, takes one look at Clay and sends us to Macon to see a pediatric neurologist. My little man is BEYOND miserable and my nerves are SHOT!
September 28- WOW, they got us in quick! Brantlee, Clay and I head to Macon. Meet with the specialist and are comfortable with the PCS diagnosis. PCS is not very common but he assured us he would completely recover with no lasting problems. The average recovery time is 4-8 weeks. (Deep breath.) Okay...what about school? Try to send him one more time and if he can't handle it, hospital home bound him. WHAT??? WHY??? The doctor explains to us that when you have PCS loud noises, bright lights, concentration, reading...all these things trigger headaches or make existing ones worse...WELL...that is a problem because noise, light, concentrating, reading...equals...school.
September 29- He lasted 45 minutes at school. The teacher was holding him up as she walked him to me. That's it....we are done. Where is the paper work for HHB?
October 1 - PRAISE THE LORD....Clay is full of energy, running around the yard, walks with me to Lake Park to play, throws the football with the neighbors...outside all day...back to his old self. Brantlee and I were so happy and relieved!
October 2 - CRASH...miserable all through church, get home and his body never left the sofa. He can't be lured by a game of kickball, an offer to go fishing...nothing. Can you say ROLLER COASTER? Just the day before I was ready to throw the HHB papers away, send him to school. What has happened? Okay, Brantlee and I decide he over did it on Saturday and will bounce back and be ready for school on Monday.
October 3- Not a chance...I fax the HHB papers to DOCO central office. He did manage to play outside a few hours, my hopes soared that he was again turning the corner...but then...back in bed.
Which leads me to today...the day of complete FRUSTRATION....I know this is a 4-8 week deal...but what was up with Saturday. He cries wanting to go to school...he is so sick of this house and feeling miserable...he is tied up in knots with energy...
So, here I am, going to look for the positives, the blessings...
Positive-I have learned how to play 2 new board games and learned that I stink at them both!
Positive-Clay and I have had some special time talking, just sitting outside...the weather is AWESOME!
Positive-it is a short school week because of Fall break...only 3 days worth of make up work
Positive-I know in my heart that as my daddy has always said, "this too shall pass!"
Positive-I have talked to God a bit more than usual these past 3 weeks...
Oh, I know things will be okay, eventually, and that there are people with terminal illnesses, fighting battles with cancer, spouses headed off to war....my troubles don't amount to a hill of beans compared to theirs...but to me, today, they feel like mountains...
The way it has all gone down...because the days are running together
September 15- Clay takes a hard hit in his football game. "He is fine," says all the men on the field. We head home...my "mommy-dar" goes off...we head to the ER where they confirm a concussion. Should be better in a few days.
September 16- Check in with Dr. Wahbeh like ER doctor told us too. Clay is completely dazed and confused but he should be notably better by Monday. We have a rough weekend.
September 19 -We send him to school. The doc said he would be better but not to return to activities for 2 week. He returns from school and crumbles into pieces...terrible day, terrible headache. I now look back on my blog the day before...I knew something was wrong. I did not listen to my "mommy-dar" I knew better...I knew he was not right!
September 20- Go back to the doctor. Okay, the concussion is worse than we thought. Stay home the rest of the week. Take Tylenol with Codeine for the pain and sleeplessness. Check in with him next Monday before sending him back.
September 26- 12 days after the concussion...head to Dr. Wahbeh's office, he walks in the room, takes one look at Clay and sends us to Macon to see a pediatric neurologist. My little man is BEYOND miserable and my nerves are SHOT!
September 28- WOW, they got us in quick! Brantlee, Clay and I head to Macon. Meet with the specialist and are comfortable with the PCS diagnosis. PCS is not very common but he assured us he would completely recover with no lasting problems. The average recovery time is 4-8 weeks. (Deep breath.) Okay...what about school? Try to send him one more time and if he can't handle it, hospital home bound him. WHAT??? WHY??? The doctor explains to us that when you have PCS loud noises, bright lights, concentration, reading...all these things trigger headaches or make existing ones worse...WELL...that is a problem because noise, light, concentrating, reading...equals...school.
September 29- He lasted 45 minutes at school. The teacher was holding him up as she walked him to me. That's it....we are done. Where is the paper work for HHB?
October 1 - PRAISE THE LORD....Clay is full of energy, running around the yard, walks with me to Lake Park to play, throws the football with the neighbors...outside all day...back to his old self. Brantlee and I were so happy and relieved!
October 2 - CRASH...miserable all through church, get home and his body never left the sofa. He can't be lured by a game of kickball, an offer to go fishing...nothing. Can you say ROLLER COASTER? Just the day before I was ready to throw the HHB papers away, send him to school. What has happened? Okay, Brantlee and I decide he over did it on Saturday and will bounce back and be ready for school on Monday.
October 3- Not a chance...I fax the HHB papers to DOCO central office. He did manage to play outside a few hours, my hopes soared that he was again turning the corner...but then...back in bed.
Which leads me to today...the day of complete FRUSTRATION....I know this is a 4-8 week deal...but what was up with Saturday. He cries wanting to go to school...he is so sick of this house and feeling miserable...he is tied up in knots with energy...
So, here I am, going to look for the positives, the blessings...
Positive-I have learned how to play 2 new board games and learned that I stink at them both!
Positive-Clay and I have had some special time talking, just sitting outside...the weather is AWESOME!
Positive-it is a short school week because of Fall break...only 3 days worth of make up work
Positive-I know in my heart that as my daddy has always said, "this too shall pass!"
Positive-I have talked to God a bit more than usual these past 3 weeks...
Saturday, September 24, 2011
I thought she had a black rope in her mouth...
As we rushed around grabbing a piece of pizza, changing clothes and getting ready to head out the door for opening night of Logan's play, Aristocats, Clay started screaming that there was a snake in the house. This comment meant nothing to me...in one ear and out the other...never gave it a second thought. I cannot count how many times he has said that or how many fake, rubber, and very life like snakes he has. Meme, Logan and I were about to head out the door. I did not have time for this. I went to kiss him goodbye and saw him on his knees in the den under the table. REALLY....YEP....there it was...a 3 foot long, skinny, black snake coiled up under the table.
My favorite line of the day came next when my dad calmly said, "I thought I saw the kitty with a black rope in her mouth." Nope, not a rope, a snake. Dang cat!!! The kids went nuts! Everyone was screaming, standing on top of the furniture. Brantlee tried to get it with the broom and dust pan but it streched itself out, slivered off the dust pan and under the book shelf. WE GOTTA GO!!! Logan has to be at LCHS at 6:00. Clay was going nuts, the girls were standing on top of the furniture screaming and my mom and dad just stood back in shock. Yep, this is the way we roll at the Lawrence house. Never a dull moment!
I knew Clay was going to knock himself out, he was so fired up and excited. The snake was not cooperating with Brantlee so he took a step back and said, "we'll just get it when we get home." For a second, much to their disbelief, I think my parents believed him. I found an old curtain rod with a hook on the end and Brantlee was able to hook him around it and tossed him out the door. Clay, Lawson and the cat followed closely behind to stalk the snake down again. Meme, Logan and I headed out the door.
The play was awesome! I was so impressed with Logan and how relaxed and at ease she was on stage. At the end of the play, I cried! Where did that come from?? She had told us that in the final song of the play she (and other alley cats) would jump off the stage and dance right in front of the audience. Evelyn sat awe struck when Logan danced right in front of her with the lights low, music loud and the whole crowd singing. It was an awesome performance and yes I am biased. This was Logan's first stage performance but I know now that it will not be her last.
We came home and had a belated birthday party for my mom. With the children all jacked up on chocolate cake and soda, the adults headed to bed :-) As I climbed into my bed... pushing my feet down under the covers...what gets caught between my toes...but one of Clay's cold plastic snakes.
I smile knowing that my old Clay is back! He is out of the drug induced fog he has lived in the past week and he is going to be okay!
My favorite line of the day came next when my dad calmly said, "I thought I saw the kitty with a black rope in her mouth." Nope, not a rope, a snake. Dang cat!!! The kids went nuts! Everyone was screaming, standing on top of the furniture. Brantlee tried to get it with the broom and dust pan but it streched itself out, slivered off the dust pan and under the book shelf. WE GOTTA GO!!! Logan has to be at LCHS at 6:00. Clay was going nuts, the girls were standing on top of the furniture screaming and my mom and dad just stood back in shock. Yep, this is the way we roll at the Lawrence house. Never a dull moment!
I knew Clay was going to knock himself out, he was so fired up and excited. The snake was not cooperating with Brantlee so he took a step back and said, "we'll just get it when we get home." For a second, much to their disbelief, I think my parents believed him. I found an old curtain rod with a hook on the end and Brantlee was able to hook him around it and tossed him out the door. Clay, Lawson and the cat followed closely behind to stalk the snake down again. Meme, Logan and I headed out the door.
The play was awesome! I was so impressed with Logan and how relaxed and at ease she was on stage. At the end of the play, I cried! Where did that come from?? She had told us that in the final song of the play she (and other alley cats) would jump off the stage and dance right in front of the audience. Evelyn sat awe struck when Logan danced right in front of her with the lights low, music loud and the whole crowd singing. It was an awesome performance and yes I am biased. This was Logan's first stage performance but I know now that it will not be her last.
We came home and had a belated birthday party for my mom. With the children all jacked up on chocolate cake and soda, the adults headed to bed :-) As I climbed into my bed... pushing my feet down under the covers...what gets caught between my toes...but one of Clay's cold plastic snakes.
I smile knowing that my old Clay is back! He is out of the drug induced fog he has lived in the past week and he is going to be okay!
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Worth Celebrating...
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds~James 1:2
When my feet hit the ground this morning I prayed for a good day and believed that I would have one. Clay slept through the night...which meant so did I...I made pancakes AND French toast...whatever they wanted...just call me a short order cook...music was going...kids were happy...Brantlee is flying home tonight...yep...it is going to be a good day!
Clay and I head out the door to take Evelyn to school and my car sounded horrible...hummm...headed back home and it sounded even worse...hummm...I have car pool tonight...okay, no problem I will head to Geryic's. As they check out my car Clay is rolling around on the bench in the waiting room, not loving life. I call Laura...she picks us up and takes us home. Geryic's will call when they have an answer.
No problem, we are not going anywhere anyway. It is what it is!
Clay gets all comfy on the sofa and the phone rings, it is Lawson...sick at school...REALLY! I have no car, no way to get her. So, I pick up the phone and call Laura (again)...get Clay back up and have Laura drive us out to the airport to get Brantlee's truck....head to Merry Acres...pick up Lawson...come home...phone rings...it's Geryic's...need all new brakes...$800.00...yippee! How did it all go so wrong so fast...I have not even finished my coffee and I have had a car break down, another sick kid and have spent $800.00. Not the day I was planning on!
I get Clay and Lawson situated, heat up my cold coffee and check my computer. Mom had sent me an email about reading June 4-11 in the book Jesus Calling. She did not know how far south my day had already gone. It read...
"The best way to get through a difficult day is to hold My hand and talk to Me. Ask Me to guide you through your problems and show you the blessings hidden in them."
Today is going to be a good day. I am going to see the blessings hidden within. I don't ever want to sound like I am complaining. I find so much of my life purely comical and down right hysterical at times. I think LLCE might get a kick out of reading this one day. I can usually laugh off one thing being out of whack at a time...and even roll with 2...it is when I get 3,4,5,6 things falling apart around me then throw Brantlee being out of town on top of it...things can get a little hairy.
I know I am blessed beyond measure and my problems are so small in the scheme of things.
But today I am considering problems pure joy and knowing that with Him by my side they can become worth celebrating.
When my feet hit the ground this morning I prayed for a good day and believed that I would have one. Clay slept through the night...which meant so did I...I made pancakes AND French toast...whatever they wanted...just call me a short order cook...music was going...kids were happy...Brantlee is flying home tonight...yep...it is going to be a good day!
Clay and I head out the door to take Evelyn to school and my car sounded horrible...hummm...headed back home and it sounded even worse...hummm...I have car pool tonight...okay, no problem I will head to Geryic's. As they check out my car Clay is rolling around on the bench in the waiting room, not loving life. I call Laura...she picks us up and takes us home. Geryic's will call when they have an answer.
No problem, we are not going anywhere anyway. It is what it is!
Clay gets all comfy on the sofa and the phone rings, it is Lawson...sick at school...REALLY! I have no car, no way to get her. So, I pick up the phone and call Laura (again)...get Clay back up and have Laura drive us out to the airport to get Brantlee's truck....head to Merry Acres...pick up Lawson...come home...phone rings...it's Geryic's...need all new brakes...$800.00...yippee! How did it all go so wrong so fast...I have not even finished my coffee and I have had a car break down, another sick kid and have spent $800.00. Not the day I was planning on!
I get Clay and Lawson situated, heat up my cold coffee and check my computer. Mom had sent me an email about reading June 4-11 in the book Jesus Calling. She did not know how far south my day had already gone. It read...
"The best way to get through a difficult day is to hold My hand and talk to Me. Ask Me to guide you through your problems and show you the blessings hidden in them."
Today is going to be a good day. I am going to see the blessings hidden within. I don't ever want to sound like I am complaining. I find so much of my life purely comical and down right hysterical at times. I think LLCE might get a kick out of reading this one day. I can usually laugh off one thing being out of whack at a time...and even roll with 2...it is when I get 3,4,5,6 things falling apart around me then throw Brantlee being out of town on top of it...things can get a little hairy.
I know I am blessed beyond measure and my problems are so small in the scheme of things.
But today I am considering problems pure joy and knowing that with Him by my side they can become worth celebrating.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Now what...
Well, today is a typical Sunday. Rush around trying not to "loose our religion" getting to church, make it to church, have a seat and be BLESSED by the music and sermon. I love our church. It sustains me.
My options for today are endless. I can get started on the MOUND of dirty, crusty dishes in the sink from last night. Those poor dishes did not get done due to way too much football to watch. I try not to go to bed with dirty dishes in the sink, but last night was an exception to that rule. My other option for today is start folding the 5 baskets of clean laundry in my room that get more and more wrinkled by the minute...not to mention the 3 loads that are patiently waiting on the laundry room floor. I could also go through my refrigerator, plan our menu for the week, check my calendar for what is coming up....Instead I find myself still sitting in the den by Clay...doing nothing...just hanging out with him like I have done since Thursday night.
This poor child is bored out of his mind...rolling around on the sofa, tired of his DS, Ipod and television. He can entertain himself for hours in the woods and in his tree house. He would pick the outdoors over any type of technology any day. More than anything, I just want him to feel better. I know concussions are extremely common and a complete recovery is coming our way....so why I am not wanting him to go to school, or leave my side? I even hesitated leaving him in Sunday school this morning. I have never been one to act on my over-protective-mom-neurosis...but today I am struggling.
I am usually sure when he is on a field trip that his bus will get in an accident, but I send him!
I am usually sure that when he is spending the night off that the house will burn down, but I send him!
Every morning that he leaves our driveway on his bike, headed to school, I think he is going get hit by a car. But I let him get on his bike and go.
Some of my mom friends say they feel the same exact way, others say I need medication.
With all these situations and my crazy over protective mind games, I pray...I pray all the time, little prayers, big prayers. Not just for my children but for myself and my over abundance of fear. I pray for balance. Not long ago our pastor said something that I have not forgotten. She said that fear can be a lack of faith. I believe that whole heartedly.
Clay is a very accident prone kid. We have had many visits to the orthopedist as well as the ER. This last visit to the ER was the second trip to Palmyra that I truly feared the outcome. To see him confused and in such pain was about too much. Oh, I know there are people out there with much bigger health problems than ours and what we are going through is nothing compared to the mountains others have to climb. But this is my blog...my thoughts.
But folks, it just does something to you when you see your child in a serious health crisis. It shakes me to the core. It makes me irrational and crazy. Lawson came close to being hit by a car when she was 3 years old and it took me FOREVER to feel normal again.
So between my irrational thoughts and my accident prone children...times like these are hard.
My options for today are endless. I can get started on the MOUND of dirty, crusty dishes in the sink from last night. Those poor dishes did not get done due to way too much football to watch. I try not to go to bed with dirty dishes in the sink, but last night was an exception to that rule. My other option for today is start folding the 5 baskets of clean laundry in my room that get more and more wrinkled by the minute...not to mention the 3 loads that are patiently waiting on the laundry room floor. I could also go through my refrigerator, plan our menu for the week, check my calendar for what is coming up....Instead I find myself still sitting in the den by Clay...doing nothing...just hanging out with him like I have done since Thursday night.
This poor child is bored out of his mind...rolling around on the sofa, tired of his DS, Ipod and television. He can entertain himself for hours in the woods and in his tree house. He would pick the outdoors over any type of technology any day. More than anything, I just want him to feel better. I know concussions are extremely common and a complete recovery is coming our way....so why I am not wanting him to go to school, or leave my side? I even hesitated leaving him in Sunday school this morning. I have never been one to act on my over-protective-mom-neurosis...but today I am struggling.
I am usually sure when he is on a field trip that his bus will get in an accident, but I send him!
I am usually sure that when he is spending the night off that the house will burn down, but I send him!
Every morning that he leaves our driveway on his bike, headed to school, I think he is going get hit by a car. But I let him get on his bike and go.
Some of my mom friends say they feel the same exact way, others say I need medication.
With all these situations and my crazy over protective mind games, I pray...I pray all the time, little prayers, big prayers. Not just for my children but for myself and my over abundance of fear. I pray for balance. Not long ago our pastor said something that I have not forgotten. She said that fear can be a lack of faith. I believe that whole heartedly.
Clay is a very accident prone kid. We have had many visits to the orthopedist as well as the ER. This last visit to the ER was the second trip to Palmyra that I truly feared the outcome. To see him confused and in such pain was about too much. Oh, I know there are people out there with much bigger health problems than ours and what we are going through is nothing compared to the mountains others have to climb. But this is my blog...my thoughts.
But folks, it just does something to you when you see your child in a serious health crisis. It shakes me to the core. It makes me irrational and crazy. Lawson came close to being hit by a car when she was 3 years old and it took me FOREVER to feel normal again.
So between my irrational thoughts and my accident prone children...times like these are hard.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Oh boy...Clay does it again
Yesterday was the first football game of the season. Logan had play practice from 6-8, Lawson had soccer practice from 5:30-6:30 and Clay had a game from 6-7. I hated the idea of missing his game but Brantlee and I decided to divide and concur. I was excited when Brantlee text me at soccer practice to let me know that Clay's game started 30 minutes late. GREAT! We will make the second half.
I found Brantlee tailgating with the Plowden's. We all hung out on the outside of the fence and watched the game. I decided to move so I could see better...when I looked up, there was a player down...after half a minute I looked at Brantlee and asked if it was Clay. I knew the answer by the look on his face. I have learned to hold back the urge to act like a hysterical mom and run on the field. Instead I try to hold back, let the coaches do their jobs ....so I waited....and waited...I saw the coaches make the teams take a knee....then make the players remove their helmets...that was it...I ran around half the field to get to the gate. Somehow when I got there, Brantlee was already by Clay. How did he beat me to Clay? The adults on the field kept telling me, he can move everything, he never lost consciousness. Okay...I know that is all good but....he was bawling, his head was killing him. When he came off the field Brantlee and I sat with him for the last few minutes of the game. That's when Brantlee told me he jumped the (7 foot) fence when he heard someone mention calling an ambulance.
On the way home Clay got very upset saying his head was killing him, he was dizzy, he thought he was going to throw up, his legs were tingling.....I just prayed, "Oh Lord, let him be okay!" Brantlee and I pulled over on the side of the road and I put Lawson and Evelyn in his truck. We headed to the ER.
The doctor was not "happy" with the quick neuro test (squeeze my hands, stand up, put your hands out...close your eyes....) and ordered a CT. Four hours later we were sent home with a diagnosis of a concussion, to be woken up every 2 hours and to see our pediatrician first thing in the morning for a follow up neuro test.
We did all that. He is going to be okay, just dazed, confuse, very sleepy and a little slow. He should be notably better by Monday or to come back to see the doctor. Now for the challange...do nothing...NOTHING...for 2 weeks. Do you know Clay? Have you ever seen him sit still for very long? He could give himself a concussion watching GATOR football. No riding his bike to school, no getting in his tree house, no swinging, no scooter, no skateboard (Dah!) no basketball,no back yard soccer, no running...nothing...nothing.
I now know what my mother-in-law means when she said, "they (children) will keep you on your knees!"
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
I write too much on facebook...but I have a lot to say!
I love reading friends blogs but never thought about starting one for myself...I think it will be like the baby book that my children will never have. Of course, the first child (children) have one that goes all the way until the day Clay was born. He also has one with three whole pages of the pictures from the day he was born. I tried scrapbooking but was not very successful at that. If you know me at all...you know I love to start a project...but completing it has always been a problem.
My husband, Brantlee, and my four children are my life. The children do and say so many crazy, amazing, ridiculous things that I want to document and remember...I think that is the reason I got on FB to begin with. But the stories I have to tell want fit in the FB status bar. I love to look back and see what we were doing in the past. I looked into a way to print out my FB but could not figure that out. So, here I am on Blogger!
I have been married to my college sweetheart for 15 year. We had twin daughters, Lawson and Logan July 1, 2000. Clay came along VERY soon after. He was born April 26, 2002. We knew we wanted a large family (even though our families did not believe us.) But, we waited 4 years to have Evelyn. She was born November 28, 2006.
I taught Special Education for 5 years, until I got pregnant with the girl. I am now a stay at home mom. Brantlee is an agricultural chemical sales representative for MANA Inc. He covers several states and travels all the time. The traveling life is all we have ever really known. When we were first married, he was home a week, gone a week. It works for us! You know the old saying, "absence makes the heart grow fonder!" Well, it is TRUE!
So, that is me! I am living my dream. All I ever wanted to do was be a stay at home mom, just like mine! I do, however, spend a lot of time in "mommy timeouts" and I am usually convinced that I am screwing my kids up but I am doing the best I can. I'm doing the best I can was my second choice for my blog. I think blogging will be a fun thing for me to do when Brantlee is out of town and it will give my children a good laugh one day! So here it goes...
My husband, Brantlee, and my four children are my life. The children do and say so many crazy, amazing, ridiculous things that I want to document and remember...I think that is the reason I got on FB to begin with. But the stories I have to tell want fit in the FB status bar. I love to look back and see what we were doing in the past. I looked into a way to print out my FB but could not figure that out. So, here I am on Blogger!
I have been married to my college sweetheart for 15 year. We had twin daughters, Lawson and Logan July 1, 2000. Clay came along VERY soon after. He was born April 26, 2002. We knew we wanted a large family (even though our families did not believe us.) But, we waited 4 years to have Evelyn. She was born November 28, 2006.
I taught Special Education for 5 years, until I got pregnant with the girl. I am now a stay at home mom. Brantlee is an agricultural chemical sales representative for MANA Inc. He covers several states and travels all the time. The traveling life is all we have ever really known. When we were first married, he was home a week, gone a week. It works for us! You know the old saying, "absence makes the heart grow fonder!" Well, it is TRUE!
So, that is me! I am living my dream. All I ever wanted to do was be a stay at home mom, just like mine! I do, however, spend a lot of time in "mommy timeouts" and I am usually convinced that I am screwing my kids up but I am doing the best I can. I'm doing the best I can was my second choice for my blog. I think blogging will be a fun thing for me to do when Brantlee is out of town and it will give my children a good laugh one day! So here it goes...
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