Finding positive in my son getting injured? - now that is a challenge!

Warning... there is one picture halfway through that if you don't like injuries or stitches, you may want to skip this blog post today.

Re-reading my mission to find the light in the dark, made me realize yesterday was a prime challenge for myself. This was my youngest early in the afternoon ....

He was playing on his caterpillar light up xylophone. According to the timestamps on my photos exactly 20 minutes later he was laying in the same spot again but this time with a gash on his eyelid. Yup, he rolled off the bed and hit his head on the way down. Dad and Mom instantly go into assessment mode. No dilated pupils, no damage to the eyeball or cornea that are visible, he has not lost consciousness, he has not vomited (though really can he vomit if he has no food in his stomach - asked out of habit), no raised heart rate. If it had been on another part of his body we would not have been so concerned, but since it was right on his eyelid - well it was the location that had us knowing we needed medical attention.

We sent out the bat signals and rounded key members of our medical team posse. An amazing feat of consulting in the backseat of our van led to input from his Complex Care Team lead, the McMaster ER doctor and one of his amazing local doctors. We are so grateful and so amazed to have such truly dedicated individuals in our world and could not believe how people went out of their way to keep us out of the hospital. Covid-19 is a serious virus on it's own, but you add in William's neurological impairment and his chronic lung disease and it would have a very high chance of being fatal for him.

As we were holding our baby boy watching him get a stitch in his eyelid without fuss and without medication, my heart hurt for him. I will never be able to express my gratefulness for having him taken care of in such a kind-hearted and amazingly efficient manner, but it hurt to see that he was not fighting and crying and fussing. So where do I find the positives? I look at the amazing people we are surrounded with, our amazing doctors, our loving nurses, our village of people (including ones who unknowingly provided the best timed gift of oatmeal chocolate chips cookies) and I am grateful. I know more about my son now and I go into our appointment tomorrow with his Qola Team (the palliative team from McMaster who have amazingly expanded to include quality of life and are with him from beginning to end of life) with more information to provide for his pediatric pain profile as we try to make sure he is having the most comfortable and happy life possible.

And now our little warrior has another battle scar and we thank our lucky stars it wasn't worse and other than a good old fashion shiner, we continue on to another day. He has completed the 24 hour head injury protocol and will not have to be roused all night long. Sleep well little man, you deserve it.