Some of you know that our sweet little Davis had a serious accident yesterday afternoon. We just brought him home from the hospital and hope that he will continue to show signs of full recovery.
Yesterday afternoon Davis was in a private one-on-one swimming lesson at our neighbor's pool. It was his first swimming lesson, which I'd scheduled with the same girl who has taught Macie and Reid for the past 2 1/2 years. The first few lessons are usually difficult for the child, as Robin teaches them to swim with their face underwater, and it is more successful/less traumatic if the parent is not there. So I dropped him off (he was soooo excited) and walked back home to put baby Danny to sleep and to fold some laundry. When I walked back half-an-hour later to pick Davis up, I was greeted at the edge of the driveway by Macie, who was running and shouted that Davis was not breathing and his lips were blue. I looked toward the pool to see Robin setting his limp body on the deck. His belly was distended, his skin was completely white and his lips were blue. His eyes were rolled back in his head, he was motionless. I quickly assessed him and noted that he was not breathing and he did not have a pulse. He was gone.
I immediately began CPR, as Robin spoke to the 911 operator. After 1 1/2 to 2 minutes of emergency CPR and about one million silent prayers as I tried to save my baby's life, Davis regained consciousness. He could not speak or move, but I could tell he was alive. He gradually started screaming/moaning. I picked him up and tried to get him to respond to me, to come back to me. He could not answer my questions, could not move to show me if he hurt -- he was floppy and unresponsive. It felt like eternity watching the ambulance drive up the street to the Heaton's home. The paramedics immediately put him on oxygen and gave him an IV. I sprinted home to grab baby Danny (who I'd left sleeping in his crib, assuming I'd be back in 2 minutes). God was hearing my prayers -- as I sprinted home my visiting teacher Janene Green drove by, and stopped to help. And as I grabbed baby Danny and ran out the door, Patty Monson called and offered to watch all of my children while I went to the hospital. I am so grateful for their help and support, and thankful that they were in the right place at the right time. It made the rest of the day more bearable, knowing that my other children were in good hands.
In the ambulance Davis was still unresponsive as the paramedics tried to get his vitals. We were unable to get a SpO2, he was tachycardic and resps were high. He was half-awake, half-asleep. I called Danny and told him to meet me at the ER. By the time we arrived at the hospital, Davis was not really all there, but was able to verbalize his name when asked. He recognized me and could hold my hand. When the doctor asked him if he was scared, he said "no." He was coming back to us.
At the hospital we ran lots of blood tests, did a chest xray, ran a CT scan. We were trying to figure out what had happened. My kids verified the swimming teacher's story, but Davis's test results seem to indicate that he was not breathing or perfusing for much longer than add up with our story. We are "very lucky that he is alive" and "that [I] knew what to do and performed CPR", according to the doctors. We weren't "lucky" in my opinion -- we were blessed. I am so thankful that God let us keep our sweet little Davis; so thankful that he is alive and strong still. I never imagined that I would have to perform CPR on my own child. I pray that I never will have to again.
We are not sure if he had a seizure (he had high sugar and high lactate, but that also might have been from the swimming lesson and stress response) or if he had a severe bronchospasm or if he was under for longer than Robin said or what exactly caused it all. All we know is that he was gone, and we are very blessed to have him back with us.
Davis was in a deep sleep until about 7:45, when he briefly woke up and vomitted A TON of what appeared to be water. He was awake for a few minutes, and able to talk with us. He was not his normal self -- very lethargic and it was difficult to get him to talk -- but he was coherent. He recognized us and had an awareness of where he was. His chest x-ray was clear. His CT scan showed water in his sinuses, but no visible brain damage. The blood results showed extremely high levels of lactate in his brain, meaning that he had been without oxygen to the brain for a long time. He vomited some more and fell back into a deep sleep.
He awoke late in the night after soaking his bed and seemed to be our good ol' Davis again. He asked for chocolate milk. He wanted to watch Robin Hood. He was sweet and happy. The doctors discharged him this afternoon and he is home with us now. He appears to be healthy and normal -- as if nothing had happened. We are so grateful for his miraculous recovery, and we pray that he will suffer no lasting effects from this incident.
For those who have been "in-the-loop" the past two days, thank you so much for your prayers and help. I feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends and neighbors and family to support us. We love you all. Thank you for your prayers and faith.
Davis is obviously back to his little 3 year old self, as you can see above. Yep -- he's got his mud boots on (the shoe of choice these days), pajamas, a warm-up jacket, Reid's T-ball helmet, and a blue bat -- and he wants me to pitch to him in our MESS of a yard. We've lost 3 balls and a plastic bat to the track-hoe and dump truck this week. All is well. :) The only real set-back we've noticed is that Davis is now only "semi potty-trained". The doctor said it is quite normal, considering all of the trauma that he's just experienced. Oh well. So much for having only one child in diapers -- back to two we go. I'll take it.
