"The EMPTY Nest"

We are so glad that Christie is out of the hospital and doing better. We just got home from Tampa. We received a call Saturday from a friend of hers that she was in the Emergency Room because of an accident she had at work. We really didn't know all the details other than she was there. We tried to get in touch with her but the nurse at the hospital said that she couldn't talk to us right now that she would let her know we called. (HIPAA Stuff - right!) Ok, so thirty minutes passes and we call the hospital again to learn that she was being admitted for a sever concussion. We called Tony and Delma who live in Avon Park about 1 1/2 hours away and asked them to go to the hospital to check on her and that we were catching the next flight out. Luckily there was a flight within the next 1 1/2 - so we threw some clothes in a bag and out the door we went. I called Christies cell phone again while we were at the airport - almost ready to board and she answered- I couldn't understand hardly anything she said because her speech was so slurred - like as if she had a stroke. I told her Auntie Delma and Uncle Tony would be there any minute and that we were on our way.

Tony and Delma got to the hospital and Tony introduced himself as Dr Chen and that he was there to check on his niece and wanted to speak to the ER Dr. They immediately took them back to see Christie. She was having a hard time using her fingers, had slurred speech, and her face and jaws were numb. They immediately took her back for a CT scan of her head. Shortly afterward the report come back as normal - which was great news - it wasn't a bleed in her head. Tony and Delma waited till they admitted her to the neuro floor and then came to get Ed and I at the airport.

When they picked us up - I asked if they had seen her and if she was ok....there wasn't a lot said other than they did see her and she was admitted to the neuro floor and that we were on our way to the hospital...i knew then that it wasn't just a bump on the head. (We were also told that she had hit her head on a steel beam at work). When we got to the hospital - she was still not speaking right - very slurred speech but her fingers and reflexes were starting to come back. The numbness in her face hd gone but she still had a tightness in her jaws and a severe headache. The hospitalist came to see her and then said that he wanted to get the Neurologist to see her since her speech had still not returned which was not typical of a severe concussion. The Neurologist came in and did a complete neuro check and said basically that all the other symptoms that she had was a result of a sever blow to the head leading to a concussion and that the slurred speech was not typical so they wanted to get a MRI scan in the morning to rule out any other problems.

We stayed until Christie drifted off to sleep and slept in a nearby hotel. The nurses had our cell phone numbers plastered on her chart should she have any problems through the night. The next morning we were there around 6:30 waiting for her to be taken for her MRI....which didn't happen till 11:00. We were told that the MRI tech didn't come in till then on Sundays....uuuugh. Anyway, her speech was much much better in the morning. She told me , Mom - I have a bad headache and my neck hurts". I was so happy - not because of the pain - but that she could tell me in a complete sentence without any slurring that her head and neck hurt. The Neurologist came back to see her in the morning and they talked about the headache and neck pain. She also ordered a c-spine "neck" xray just to rule out any small fractures that could have resulted from the head trauma. Later in the day, the MRI and xray reports all come back as normal. Praise God.

The doctor said to take her on home that she could rest there as good as she could in the hospital bed if not better. So we took her home, let her take a good hot shower and then into bed she went. She slept for a good three hours - deep sleep. When she woke - we got her some dinner and she ate a good dinner - nausea was gone and her appetite was back - another great sign.

I thank God for all the answered prayers. She still has severe headache and neck pain - like a whiplash - but the neurologist said that could go on for a couple of weeks. She is going back to see the neurologist the end of this week. We stopped by her work to see them and follow up on all the paperwork that needed to be filed for Workman's comp - and they were so very nice and accommodating saying that they would take care of everything including the ambulance ride to the hospital and all the followup doctor visits. Very nice.

Please keep Christie in your prayers as she starts the concussion healing process. Now I know I have to get an appointment to get my hair colored with all the NEW GRAY HAIRS I HAVE !!!!