This year's Thanksgiving was one we will NEVER forget, not necessarily one we will want to remember. It started out as a GREAT day. Bear, Sabrina and I ran the Turkey Trot at Red Mountain Park. My parents came to watch Berlyn while we ran. It felt so good and was a blast. (Enter picture here)
After the Turkey Trot, we went home and put Berlyn down for a nap while we cooked. I made mashed potatoes and a pie to take to Nani's house for dinner. It turned out pretty good. We ate a very yummy dinner at Nani's and hung out for awhile with family afterwards. Around 4pm we decided we would go see everyone over at Bear's grandparents house in Queen Creek.
Once there, Bear took Berlyn out in the backyard to play and run around, while I stayed inside and talked with his aunts. Not too long after did I see Bear's uncle Mike go outside. About 5 minutes later he sticks his head through the back door and motions for me to come outside. I go in the back and immediately hear Berlyn crying. I turn around the corner and see her motionless in Bear's arms. He turns her towards me and what I see makes me burst into tears. I immediately knew something was wrong. Her head was tilted to the side and she could not pick it up and her eyes were rolled over to the left side and she just kept whining and wanting to fall asleep. I had no idea what had happened, but I knew we needed to get her to the emergency room ASAP! As we were trying to leave, Bear's grandma Martha and aunt kept telling us she would be okay and kids hit their heads all the time. As much as I knew this was true, I knew something more was wrong. Bear's mom's cousin was there and he and grandpa Wayne went into a back room and gave her a blessing real quick. Martha told me that in his patriarchal blessing, he was given the power to heal. (I am getting goose bumps writing this).
As we were racing out the door, in the car. I called my parents. She told us to go straight to the Cardon Children's Hospital all the way in Downtown Mesa (from Queen Creek). We asked them to meet us there. On our way there in the car I held Berlyn as carefully as I could and tried to get her to keep crying and not fall asleep. This is also when Bear told what actually happened to her: Berlyn was just playing in the grass. Bear's uncle was playing catch with a little boy, nothing rough at all, just throwing the ball back and forth. The little boy threw the ball haywire and Bear's uncle started to run backwards and to the side to catch it. At that exact time, Berlyn darted out. Neither of them saw the other one. And Bear's uncle tripped over Berlyn and his entire body weight landed on her head. It was a freak accident. No body's fault.
After what seemed like an eternity, we make it to the hospital and rush her into the emergency room. We told them what happened and they immediately take us back into a room. We have nurses and doctors rushing to our side. They quickly put her in a neck brace and take x-rays and CT scans. She is still limp and trying to fall asleep. My parents finally arrive and the doctors come back and tell us that she has a traumatic brain injury and skull fracture and will need to be rushed to surgery. My dad and Bear give her another blessing. After quite a few minutes the ER doctor comes back in the room and says that the pediatric neuro surgeon on call said to wait on surgery. We are relieved!! He said that the brain was "angry" and that if he tried to operate right now that it would upset the brain even more and may cause more damage. (We are very thankful for his knowledge). He told us they would take her to the Pediatric ICU and wait for the swelling to go down and take it from there. Around midnight they finally get us to a room in the ICU. At this time they say they want to do a full body MRI to rule out back and neck injuries and they must sedate her for this to keep her completely still. I cannot stand for her to do these tests alone and insist I go with her. To my surprise they let me. I stay in that VERY loud, cold MRI room with her for the entire 2 hours it took. When we finally get back to the room it is around 2:30am. My parents decided to leave at this time, but would be back in the morning. Needless to say it was a very LONG hard night full of crying and anguish and guilt and pain.
To be continued...
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