Exect the Unexpected

While I was at NHF in Orlando meeting and chatting with all you wonderful moms, little did I know what was going on back home. My husband and children were home on the West Coast. Friday morning was Factor morning... however, you guessed it, my husband forgot or maybe was just hoping nothing would happen. My son has a port and dad has tried to access it but has never been successful in doing so. So fear or forgetfulness, whatever the case, brought a frightening evening for our family. Something that all of us sub-consciously fear. "What if I am not there when my son needs me?" I was about to live out this very fear.

After retiring for the night...about 11:45pm (8:45 pacific time) the phone call came. "Honey I am in a delima, Brock fell on his head and cannot get up, he is disoriented and screaming. I am not sure what to do." In sheer panic I sat up in my bed, now wide awake and tried to calmly ask "Did you give him his factor this morning?" When the dreaded "no" answer came so did the tears and near panic. I was 3000 miles from home and could do nothing...nothing that is but pray. I instructed my husband get out the supplies and start on the factor, and that I was going to make a call. You see we have 3 younger daughters who were home, scared and screaming as well which were only adding to my husband's stress and anxiety. I called a dear friend who was so kind as to drop everything and drive to my home. While on the phone with me she arrived at my house and asked what to do. I said, "knock on the door and if it is open go in, then gather the girls and get them out of the room." She guided them upstairs, put jammies on and began to read stories to them to distract and calm them down. What an angel. My next phone call was to the Associate Pastor and his wife who immediately prayed then also came to the house.

At this point my husband was not having success in accessing the port so he called me back and put me on speaker phone. He was stressed, frustrated, and just wanting to just take Brock to the emergency room. "You need to get his factor into him before you go." I said, "You really don't want them doing it if at all possible. He needs to be treated now." He agreed and tried again, and again with no success. With much anxiety and a not so nice tone of voice he was beginning to "lose it." With every bit of calmness I could muster I said "Babe, just take a deep breath and try again, just reposition the needle." Of course my heart was racing, and I was praying desperately in my mind for the Lord to guide his hands.......then....finally....success! He was able to get the factor flushed into the port! (This was the first time ever that he was successful!!!!) I cannot tell you what a relief that was! Then they were off to the emergency room for a CAT Scan to check if there was a fracture or any bleeding into the brain. Pastor accompanied them, for which I was truly thankful that my husband would not be "alone."

Brad, my husband, then said, "Just go to sleep and I will call you with the results." Sleep! Are you crazy? Crying and praying was all I could for the next 4 hours until the call back from my husband saying, "We are on our way home, the CAT Scan was normal, no bleeding or fracture." This was an absolute miracle! It was like an elephant finally got up off my chest and I was able to breathe...and yes finally fall asleep. Of course it was now 5am for me and I had to work at the convention. So after peeling my eyes open at 8am, and buying the largest cup of coffee I could find I set off to the exhibit hall. For those of you who saw me, my sincere apologies. I was a mess!

But I do believe that all things work together for the good. I have been telling my husband for a couple of years now that we needed a back up plan, just in case Brock needed treatment and I was not there....So unfortunately he got on the job training! Brad actually did it under stress and pressure only to see that he could actually give a factor dose. I do not recommend this method however do think about an alternate plan for those unexpected times when you hope nothing will happen and it does. Practice without the stress is probably the better way to go.

Have a great day!