How Did We Get Here?

Two years ago today I was in a hospital in Bangor, Maine.  It was a scary experience and one I’ll never forget. 

September 3, 2006
We were on our way home from Atlanta Georgia. My brother had gotten married the day before and we wanted to be home in time for school to start on Tuesday. Our flight was 5:30am About 2pm we were finally making our way from the Bangor airport. I was exhausted from the wedding the day before and having stayed up late to pack everything up. Dh had gone to bed a couple of hours before me. Kids and I settled in for naps while dh drove. A couple of times I asked dh if he wanted me to drive but he declined. All of a sudden the van is bouncing, my nose is throbbing and my face is burning. The van stops and I am out the door to Lydia as fast as I can while yelling at dh. Her seat was on the driver’s side. I grab her and run back to the other door to check on the older two but before I can, I crumple in pain. I couldn’t sit or lay down. My face is cut and mosqiuitos are eating me alive. An EMT who owns a restaurant/convenience store comes to the scene. he heard the crash as well as the people whose lawn we are parked on. Someone hauls a duffel bag out of the van and I layed on top of it on my stomach. Kids are checked and they are ok aside from seatbelt bruises. Thank God. An ambulance arrives and takes Lydia and I. I am strapped to a backboard for the second time in my life and I wasn’t too happy about it. I remember insisting I didn’t need it while at the same time I couldn’t walk. Lydia was terrified of the strangers taking care of her and they kept hauling out Care Bears for her. She was one at the time and looooved Care bears. She had just had a Care Bear birthday. The state troopers transported Jeff and the kids to the hospital. I had xrays, CAT scan and the whole nine yards. the guy in radiology had to undress me. He was going to cut my bra but I told him I had just bought it and if he knew what was good for him, he wouldn’t dare. Have you ever had to breastfeed while strapped to a backboard? Once that was over, I was in a bed in the ER. I had to pee so bad.. They tried to take me to the bathroom but i still couldn’t walk. So an orderly brought a port-a-potty and assisted me. No dignity left. The doctor told me I had a compression fracture at T12.   Apparently if you are going to have this type of injury to your spine, this is the best possible place to have it. 

To make a long story, slightly shorter. family and friends dealt with the kids and made sure they had what they needed to get to school. Mil came and stayed with jeff and Lydia in a hotel. Someone got our stuff out of the van. The accident was on Sunday and I think we left the hospital on Wed for a very long and painful 4 hour drive.

After 3 weeks on bedrest, cara(ladybug mom) and Joanne coming and doing laundry and cleaning the bathroom, taxing me to appts, the church delivering a months worth of meals, I finally get the clear to start physio and get back to life. I was still terrified. What were the long term affects going to be? How was this going to affect daily life?
Physio made things worse. then I discovered yoga and over the past year and a half, I am now, for the most part, in better shape with aches and pains than I was before the crash.

So what were the scariest parts?
Not knowing why we went off the road. Did Jeff have a heart attack at the wheel? Were the kids OK? Would I recover and be able to take care of my family? I am so thankful for all that has come out of a horrible accident. Jeff has taken his health seriously and had a major weightloss of 100lbs+ as well as dealing with his sleep apnea. I am doing Yoga regularly for my over all health and can now do things that I couldn’t do beforehand. I can touch my toes and lay flat on my back. I also appreciate the kids more and their health and advocate for better car seat safety.

In our house we have the challenge of rooming an 8 yr old boy and a 3 yr old girl in a room that is about 8 feet square.  Not easy to do but I thought I woould share some of the tricks we use.  Just this weekend we finally painted it.  We’ve been in this house for 4 years.

Here’s Lydia sanding and painting.

Dh being funny.

A couple of years ago, when Regal was going out of business, I picked up these cd holders.

They were on the inside of the doors but since the kids all share the Adventures in Odyssey cd’s I put it on the outside to minimize the fighting.  BTW we’ve got about 35-40 hours of stories on these cd’s and they’ve been using them for 5 yrs. 

On the inside of the door, we have Groovy Girls for Lydia and finally tamed Parker’s Webkinz collection

Still need to paint the doorframe.  One challenge of a small space and doing home daycare, is finding a spot for Parker to do his homework where he can’t be bothered.  I found this folding tabletop at the Bargain Shop for $12.  It attaches to the wall and folds against the wall when it’s not being used. 

One of the challenges of bunkbeds is a lack of space for the one on the top bunk.  We bought these cones at IKEA a couple of years ago.  A great spot for a boy to hide his treasures.

Shelves are up high and hold collections.  We need to get more supplies to do the perimeter.

Picked up this Fisher Price wall pocket at a flea market for Lydia but instead of attaching it to the wall, it’s on the side of her bunk bed.  It gives her a spot with in reach to stash her treasures and bedtime books.

Parker’s clothes are in laundry baskets under the bed.  It keeps junk from accumulating under there, makes it easy for him to put his laundry away and makes use of valuable space.

An extra rod in the closet doubles the hanging space.  When we moved in, the closet doors were original to the house.  Bifold, metal and falling off the tracks.  we took them off all the closets and use curtains with a suspension rod instead.  I’m having someone tie dye curtains for this room for the window and closet.