Tyler's stay in the hospital

I can't sleep. Although Ben and Tyler are sleeping peacefully and I should be joining them, it's just not happening.
I'm so grateful Tyler is alive and well right now. What a crazy, emotion-charged day this has been. Pretty crummy, and yet I'm so grateful for so many little blessings right now and the little things that got us through today.
Just after 11am today Trent came upstairs and told us that Tyler was sitting against the couch weird, like he had fallen off of it, and that Ty wasn't talking to Trent. I'm so grateful for that smart little 6 year old of ours. Ben booked it down there and called me down. I grabbed both cell phones and called 911 so fast, but not fast enough for a scared mommy and daddy. When we walked into the family room where the boys had been watching a movie together, Ty was half slumped against the couch, blue and pale ad completely unresponsive. Ben laid him down flat on his back and his color started to return. The only time he responded was when we stuck our fingers in his mouth to see it something was stuck in his throat. Today I LOVED hearing Tyler cry and scream because it meant he was still alive.
Trent stayed upstairs and watched for the paramedics while Ben and I stayed with Ty and I was on the phone. Trent let the paramedics in and then just stayed back and watched with big kid eyes. When I asked him to take Paige in the playroom and keep her occupied he just did it happily.
The paramedics thought Ty had had a seizure from everything we were saying. They asked us if we wanted him taken to te ER - which I thought was a silly question because Tyler wasn't responsive and still had low oxygen. I ran to call our pediatric office to ask some more questions and got this feeling, when I was told to please wait for my call to be answered :(, that I should find a place for Trent and Paige because I didn't want to stay home and I doubted Ben did. While on hold with the office I called my friend, Laurie, with Ben's phone and after choking out two or three words she was saying, "I'm coming. I'll be right there to get them." She's amazing. I told the paramedics that I couldn't get through to the office, so they just called the ER instead. So much better. I grabbed Trent and Paige and flew upstairs to throw them in coats and shoes. Again, Trent was so good and helpful. While I was upstairs at this point, Ty threw up and they had to deal with that so I quickly threw Paige's pig and a cup in a bag with a few diapers and called it good. Two seconds later Trent was telling me, "she's here" and my wonderful friend swooped up my two kids and whisked them away. Moments after, it was decided I should ride in the ambulance with Ty and so I rode for the second time in the back of an ambulance.
In the ambulance Ty was so tired, but when they tried to give him an IV he woke up enough to cry out, "mama" repeatedly and enough to break my heart. The freaky thing was I've never seen a seizure so when I got right by him and was holding him and telling him I was there, he was looking a million miles past me and kept crying out because he didn't recognize I was there. Freaky. They couldn't get the IV in, but they stopped and only tried once, which made me happy because they didn't have an butterfly needle. I'm glad they didn't keep pushing the issue.
Ben hadn't gotten a shower yet so I thought he was maybe staying to shower, but he showed up within a minute after we pulled into the ER room. Poor guy. They immediately got some blood which woke Ty up enough to cry some. They did every lab work up and CT scans and X-rays, etc. everything kept coming back clear though and that was good news, but not giving us answers. In the middle of being in the ER, we called Ben's brother to come help give a blessing. I don't see Ben cry, but today was a rough day for keeping it together. It was almost too much for me, who was already a complete mess. Jeremy & Sophie showed up and offered hugs and support and made me feel a little better as Ty got a blessing and they hung around for awhile until we figured out what we needed. I definitely felt loved and boosted up from them.
Tyler had several more definite seizures in the ER and threw up several more times. It's pretty freaky watching you kid suddenly have very shallow breathing and then start shaking and their whole body goes ridged. All the staff would be out of the room, Ty's oxygen monitor number would plummet and then he's start convulsing. By the time we got to the hopsital, this was my response: the monitor goes off, and I jumped into action. I rolled that little body on his side and either grabbed a basin or asked for one. I just prayed and prayed, but it was only when there was something I could actually do that I could hold it together and not sob my eyes out. Once when we were waiting for the CT scan, his oxygen dropped to 50 (well, that's where I last looked), and everyone rushed in and pulled him into the trauma room across the hall. They turned up his oxygen and just as a tube was about to go down his throat, the oxygen levels started coming up. The ER doctor was now mad and ordered him to be pushed into the scanning room immediately. It made me feel good that someone was pushy for my kid.

While the tube drama was going on, a really nice guy pulled out two chairs for us in the room. As the oxygen was coming up, another nice nurse put her hand on Ben's shoulder and asked if we were okay. Ben was doing everything to keep it together. This same nurse saw what a basket case I was and as we were headed to peds, handed me a brand new kleenex box. I love her for noticing us as the scared parents of a sick, little boy.

It wasn't until I was in the ER that I heard this story - because I was on the phones arranging sitters and trying to figure stuff out. About an hour before Trent told us Ty wasn't responding to him, Ty ad Paige had been playing in the basement. I was showering and Ben was working on the taxes upstairs. Ben said he heard a really loud thud and ran down. Tyler had fallen and hit his head and hadn't caught himself. Ben said he cried for a bit, Ben watched his eyes, but Tyler said he felt fine so Ben stuck him in front of a movie and told them to calm down. That's where we think the seizure came from - Tyler had a concussion and then got over stimulated from the movie. Trippy! I had taken him to the doctor two days before that and found out he had a double ear infection, which is probably the reason he had no balance and couldn't catch himself. At least, that's what the doctors and we have put together, happened. When they did the CT scan they found a clean scan. So grateful there were no fractures or bleeding from that.

The doctors all decided that they definitely wanted to keep Ty overnight because they had to keep giving him seizure medicine until they found the dose that was right. Of course since Tyler had no idea who we were I wanted him in the hospital until he woke up. And then some.

We were admitted and moved to pediatrics which is both the greatest and saddest because it's sick kids, but it's kids. They are fighters. By the time we were admitted all the meds were working great and he never had another seizure. What a blessing. The seizure medicine combined with the seizures wiped his body and brain out. I was so grateful for the monitors telling us if he was breathing okay, etc. He was out for hours. After getting situated and realizing that Ty really was resting made me realize how tense and on edge and jumpy I was. I hadn't eaten since 8am and it was 3pm. I ran down to the cafeteria and got a sandwich. I could barely eat it so I gave the rest to Ben. We finally sat down and texted some family and called our moms and I talked to my sister. We still didn't have a lot of answers, but he was resting and it had now been over three hours since the last seizure. During this waiting time we realized we had never gotten the results of the xray - Tyler also had pnemonia, so that's adding to how tired he is. I completely understand that!!
Around 6pm I decided that Ty really was going to be okay and I started feeling like that was my window to rush home, grab some clothes for Ben and I, and get Paige's medicine over to my friend. I was so shaken and nervous so I called another friend who helped me detox the situation in a really motherly-crazed way. It made me feel better.
Of course when we were leaving in the ambulance it was just starting to rain. When I was trying to make it home, to my frend's and back to the hospital before anything happened with Ty, it was almost blizzard-like in places. Especially the closer I got to home. I didn't drive more than 40 MPH the entire way there and back. I wanted to make it safely back to Ty. That was all I could think about.
At home I quickly packed us a bag with some pjs for Ty for whenever he could leave. I threw some church clothes for the kids in the car and just remembered to feed Ty's fish as I was running out. He'd be so sad if his fish died while he was gone.
On my way back to the hospital our Relief Society president got a hold of me. Our neighbor had called her right away when she saw the ambulance and then I had called the primary president at the hospital to get a sub for our sunbeam class and she called the RS president too. I told her we had a huge support group, including my amazing friend who was going to take her four and my two to church. She rocks. Just as I was finishing up that conversation and pulling off the freeway I got a call from Ben. Which made my heart pound fast because I hoped things were okay at the hospital. I was afraid to drive much faster than 35, but I would've probably tried if something was wrong. Ben told me that Ty was awake and I could hear him crying in the background. Music to my years. I asked Ben if he knew him yet and he said that it was a little, but every question irritated him (Tyler). Still good to me - much more like Ty. ;)
Ben said Ty was asking for me so he put him on the phone and he said hi mommy and then seemed confused as to why he was talking on the phone. I got up to the room about 12 minutes later and was so happy to see my boy awake and breathing on his own without oxygen. Heaven. He was grouchy and annoyed, but awake and knew who I was - kinda. He asked me where Trent was and where we were (which Ben said he had asked ton of questions like that already). I loved answering ever single repeat because it meant he was awake and had a chance to get better. He fell back asleep about ten minutes after I got there. Ben went back to sleep and I watched them both. I couldn't eat or sleep for awhile until I realized I would probably make myself sick of I didn't eat, so I ate the dinner my friend (who had my kids) made and gave to us. She's an angel. I just can't think of enough good things to say about her. It was delicious. Ben woke up and ate some, then wanted a burger so he left to get that downstairs. Then we slept and rested. I never slept because I couldn't calm down. I kept watching a show or watching Ty's stats. Around 10pm Tyler woke up happy. He was alert and hungry. So very hungry. He wanted juice and water and yourt. So happy to see him eat. Then we got him a show, got him his stuffed animal I brought from home and he repeated all his questions over and over. They still made me happy!
We were awake a few hours talking and trying to help him understand why he had those things on his chest and hands. But those questions were all part of the questions package and I answered them over and over again.
Around 1:30 Tyler insisted he wanted oatmeal. So I went out and got him some. He ate it all up. Hilarious. Around 2:30am he got more seizure medicine which wiped him out again. He had sat up by himself just before that, but we were grateful we could get him to lay down and rest again. I still wasn't sleeping. But I am very grateful for my phone and Netflix and the Internet. That's when I started this post.
Finally around 5am I had been lying down without any distraction for a good two hours and I finally felt myself drift off. We all slept pretty good until close to 9am. What a blessing. That's when Tyler woke up again - very hungry and wanting something heavier.

The morning was a combination of taking turns getting some food, laying down and resting off and on, and waiting for Tyler to wake up and the doctor to let us know what we should prepare for that night. As the day wore on I was sure we would be staying another night, which was fine, but I was anxious to get someone over to our house to watch the kids and take Trenton to school. Having all of this happen while Ben was home was such a comfort to me. Can you imagine if I was home alone? Of course, I would've gotten through it, but I know Heavenly Father was looking out for us.

We left and got to pick up the kids around 1:30 on Sunday. They had been with my same friend for over 24 hours and she had taken them to church and kept them happy and busy and distracted. She's amazing! Paige and Trenton both were calm and although fine to go home, not even Paige was clingy or sad about us having left her. Either she is really smart and gets that we needed to help Tyler, or Laurie is amazing with 1-year-olds! Also, not really asking, but more like just slipping another dinner on the front seat of the van was helpful. Laurie - I know we can never pay you back, but I'm so grateful we're friends. I am so blessed. Ben just kept saying that he was so glad I had the best friend.
On the drive back, because the seizure meds were still in Tyler, Ben sat in the back seat with him and had to help hold him in his seat.

Sunday night we laid a sleeping bag on the living room floor and that was Ty's space to lay back down and take a rest. Mostly he just played with a few dinosaurs from where he was laying. He had a hard time sitting up. At the hopsital he had been given a few toys and a blanket and then we played with a few of their toys too. When we unpacked and let him show Trenton, he was so sad when a boat and some animals didn't come home with us. Today I headed out for some yogurt and lots more juice and also a really cool boat! And animals! I found some HUGE hits and was glad because we're on a strict no-noise and stimulation policy around here. We can afford an awesome new toy!
Another little cool thing was that when we first walked into Tyler's room at the hopsital, the bed was made with a Woody/Buzz blanket. Tyler was out cold at this time, but they told us he could take the blanket home. When we finally got around to going home and we told him he could take the blanket he was not attached to, he was so happy. It was amazing how great that information was to him. Now, I have made hopsital blankets for sick children in both YW and RS since I was 12 years old. But until I saw his excitement, pretty much what I'm sure felt like the only thing going his way, all those hours making blankets came back to me. I felt a peaceful feeling and thought, "you have given, now receive". I never pictured the sweet children receiving those blankets, but I'm so grateful for the YW or sister who made Tyler's blanket.

Because it was a school night, and we needed a little peace and calmness, everyone was in bed except Tyler by 7pm. Tyler asked for a bath, so then the last of us were in bed before 9pm. That's so early for us!!
Ben made the airmattress bed in the boy's room and I had Trent in our bed with me. We were told the first 24 hours after the last dose of seizure medication is the mostly telling. We didn't know what we could expect. We had both the doors open too so Ben and I could talk to each other if we had to. Again, I had another restless night of continually checking on Tyler and finally fell asleep after midnight. And then woke up evey 45 minutes or so until 5, at which point I was pretty much awake until ten minutes before Trenton woke up. Typical! I asked Trent if I could just sleep some more, and he was a little weirded out by that. "um, mom? I have school...remember??!"
We had made it through the night!! Tyler had made it through and he was in bed, sleeping, from 9pm to after 7am!! Amazing!! We were so grateful and said a lot of grateful prayers today.
As Tyler was getting better and better today you could see him give his all to play with toys, but anything really working his brain, like a stacking toy or Paige's, he wouldn't really focus on. His brain was telling him to stop. He would just crawl back to the sleeping bag or into my arms when he needed a rest. I loved having him home and recovering and happy.
Tonight Tyler sat up to the counter to eat a little bit and he played with Trenton and the new toys for a good 1 1/2 hours. I also got to see several spontaneous Tyler-smiles tonight. Probably close to 10. As we were putting everyone down tonight, Tyler stood up and dragged two blankets behind him and pulled himself into bed. He was happy to be going to sleep (as long as you didn't call it that!). Not sure what tomorrow will bring, but hopefully he'll keep moving forward. He's a fighter.

Once we got home and things were a little calm, Ben and I asked Trenton what he actually saw. Apparently Trent saw Ty's entire seizure and watched him slide, feet first, off the couch. He was completely weirded out and tried to talk to him, but that's when he ran up and got us. I'm a little sad that Trenton had to watch that, because it was so hard for me to watch, but words cannot express how grateful I am that Trenton was right there and could tell us right away.
Thank you all so much for your prayers and help. I'm so happy I get to be Tyler's mom another day. Now it's all about letting his concussion and then the pnemonia heal. All healable!! Our family is so blessed! This was painted above Ty's bed in the hospital. Cute girl...