Scary Seconds

We took a very normal trip to the park this afternoon that ended up not so normal. We started swinging and then Kai decided he wanted to climb on the play equipment. For the first time, Kai was able to climb up onto the playground equipment at this park (our normal one, we just haven't been in about a month) and he was excited about getting himself where he wanted to go. After a couple of trips down the little slide, he decided that he wanted to go across the bridge. He climbed up, and I went to my normal place next to the bridge to hold his hand. As he stepped onto the bridge, I reached for him, but he reached the other way and stepped in the opposite direction. (Maybe he was reaching for the hand rail?? I don't know.) The next thing I know he was falling off the bridge, under the hand rail and straight for the ground about two feet down. I let out a gasp, held my breath, and could only just watch as he fell. From my angle, it looked like he flipped completely over and landed flat on his back. (The other moms nearby tell me that he actually hit on his face and then kind of flipped over.) I immediately ran around the equipment to grab him as he started to cry. He was trying to sit up, so I scooped him up and he started crying on my shoulder and hugging me. And then I heard a deep breathe, and nothing.

I pulled him back to see if he had calmed down, only to see him completely unconscious. I panicked and immediately started asking the other moms around to call 911. As the cell phones were coming out, Kai's eyes started rolling in his head and he came around. The moms were so nice, gathering around Kai and helping me out. None of us really knew what to think, but it was nice to know that I wasn't alone. One mom stayed on the phone with the dispatcher to ask if they thought we should have an ambulance come out or if I should run him to the urgent care or pediatrician. After taking all of the information, they dispatched an ambulance to the park.

By this point, Kai was awake, talking, and very upset that I wouldn't let him go play. His face was scratched and bleeding, but other than that, he seemed ok. I held him on my lap for the 5 minutes or so it took for the paramedics to arrive, (much faster than it would have taken me to get him anywhere) and then we walked down to the curb to meet them. Oh, and in the middle of this I borrowed a cell phone to call Reid--I guess that's what I get for leaving my phone in the car. When Kai realized that all of the attention and sirens were for him, he was very upset and started to majorly protest. He just wanted to go play.

We talked to the paramedics for a minute, explaining the situation, and then they had us climb up in the ambulance so they could look at Kai. I held him on my lap, sat on the stretcher and Kai cried. The handed him a monkey named Mo, and he stopped crying and started talking to them. They just watched him as we talked and asked him questions. He was a chatterbox as normal...just a little upset and clutching his monkey. He was acting normal. They noted that he is going to have a nasty bruise on his face, and they thought there might have been something with his teeth, but on looking in his mouth they decided he was fine. They also told me that when little children get very scared or hurt, they will at times hold their breathe until they pass out. We figure this is what Kai did.

Kai, of course, broke the tension and had us all laughing. I asked him if he had a "booboo" and he said "Yes". Then I asked where it hurt and he started to look at his hand (where he had a little scratch about a week or so ago). The paramedics told him that they didn't see anything on his hand and he then began to look at his fingers and finally said "I have a broken nail." They all had a good laugh at his concern over a broken nail. At that, we got out of the ambulance and they offered a tour of the fire truck, which started the crying and screaming again. He was fine in the ambulance (as long as we weren't driving--he was very concerned about that) and wasn't ready for a change. We decided to just load up in the car and head home. He tried to return Mo the monkey, but the paramedics threw him into the car for me.

So, now we're all home watching TV and I'm just trying to take deep breaths. Kai has told me that he's "all better now" and so I'm trying not to dwell on it. The paramedics said to watch him for any vomiting or funny eye dilation and to take him straight to urgent care if that were to happen. Other than that, they thought his range of motion in his neck was good and he's acting completely normal other than being a bit tired. I figure we'll go back to the park, and the bridge, later this week just so Kai and mommy aren't scared. I have a feeling I won't sleep well tonight--I'll probably spend the whole night making sure he's still breathing--but I'm so glad he seems to be ok. When I think I about what could have been, I feel very lucky.

I know that lots of kids get injured at the playground, but it kills me that it happened while I was standing right there. I keep thinking I should have told him he had to hold my hand or maybe I should have been on the other side. But there's no point in that I guess....I was on the side I always am and I did what we always do. There was nothing I could have done once he started to fall, even though it seemed he was falling in slow motion. And I feel horrible that I didn't say thank you enough to the kind woman who let me use her phone. To whoever she is....THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. Kai's going to be ok.

The battered face (from the forehead all
the way down to his lip, poor kid)