My Poor Baby! ~ Warning: Graphic Photos

*****WARNING: This post shares some very graphic photos. If you tend to faint at the site of blood, you may not want to read this post.*****




My kids have been fairly lucky in the injury department over the years. Besides a terrible auto accident, and all of the horrible injuries entailed, the most they've ever experienced was a few stitches, bumps and bruises.
They've probably remained unscathed because my kids aren't dare devils and don't partake of many high risk or dangerous activities.
Sure, they ride their bikes, ocassionally ride a horse, play sports, jump on a trampoline, and climb trees.
All are pretty typical for most 11 year old kids, though, don't you think?

Jax loves to climb trees. He could probably live in a tree, if you let him. He dreams and wishes hard for his very own treehouse one day.
On the other side of the coin, his twin brother Jem is not a tree climber. Jem tends to read and play guitar more than anything. But he does like to hang out with his twin brother and have fun, too.
So the other evening Jem joined Jax climbing trees up in the woolies' paddock.

As always I warned them to be careful and tried not to be over-protective. I tried to avert my eyes and do the "shut my eyes, plug my ears, and go "lalalalalalala...I can't hear/see you!" as my friend Melanie tries to do with her own kids when they insist on doing things that scare the willies right out of any loving Mama.

I have to admit I felt more worried than usual seeing my more 'delicate' son way up in the tree. I wanted him down....NOW!

But I walked to the bottom of the hill after feeding the animals at the barn, and just when I got past the lower gate, I heard a scream. And not just any scream. A scream that all Mamas know and dread. A scream that says something is terribly wrong. A scream that makes our hearts race and our tummies fall into our feet. A scream that makes the hair rise on the back of our necks and causes us to have the 'fight or flight' syndrome.
I turned on a dime and ran up there to find Jem stumbling and whimpering towards me, telling me that he felt like he was going to throw up.

He was guarding his right chest, so that was the first place I looked. And what I saw horrified me!
There was tissue and fat sticking out of his wound, and it was right below his nipple, which was hanging there only by a flap. It was sickening to see and required a trip to the emergency room STAT!

Prepare for the graphic photo:


My poor baby boy. I felt so terrible for him. But he was so brave. Braver than I would be. Jem also ended up with a few other scrapes and small cuts. Ranchman John and his truckdriver friend, Clark, who was visiting, took Jem to the hospital. I stayed home with Jax and Jen, and was so grateful that Ranchman John was there to be by Jem's side. He is so much tougher than I am. I faint at the sight of my children's blood now. I feel weak if they sustain any trauma.

It has not always been this way, though. I used to be a CNA (nurse) for several years when I got out of high school. I was never queasy or weakhearted. I could handle anything that came my way.

But then 3 years ago my twin sons and husband almost died when they were hit from behind by a vehicle and rammed into the path of an 18 wheeler head-on.
There were a lot of terrible injuries and trauma. And I think it affected me right down to my core being, my deepest part of my soul. And though I am amazingly blessed that my sons and husband are still alive, I've never been the same since.

But this post is not about me. This is about my poor baby who survived falling out of a juniper tree. He bragged that he didn't even cry throughout the entire hospital ordeal. Jem had to deal with multiple needles to numb the area as well as SEVENTEEN stitches! Ouch!

Jem almost lost his nipple, and the nurse told me that it's better that this happened to my son rather than my daughter, because for a female there could have been issues involving breastfeeding, sensitivity and nerve damage.
Jem may still end up with some nerve damage and lack of feeling, but for now he's just sore and not able to do much for at least 10 days. Thank goodness he's my quieter, less active son.

Here's a photo I took of the stitched up wound after I cleaned it up tonight:

So as you can see it's been a rather stressful and emotional couple days around here. I'm not much of a drinker, but I wouldn't mind a strong margarita right about now.
Anyone want to join me?

Court and Witnesses on the Stand

The main lobby of the Sandoval County Judicial Complex(photo borrowed from Gerald Martin Bldr website)



We are finally through with all of our settlement cases and tied everything up with Jackson & Jeremiah's Conservatorship Assignment Appt today with the judge and our attorney and the court appointed Minor's representative, at the Sandoval County Courthouse.
It has taken such a long time (over 2 1/2 yrs) and after dealing with the defendant's attorneys and their potshots and extreme efforts at trying to get away with not paying our medical and legal bills, we have all been on edge and just wanting to close this awful chapter of our lives.

And now it is!

We were all a little bit nervous going into the courtroom, but it was a closed session and it took less than 10 minutes for it all to be over. The judge was awesome at trying to make us feel at ease and was very friendly with the boys, even commenting that his own son was named Jackson and then inviting them up to sit down in the witness chairs and be sworn-in. He even turned the video screens on so they could watch themselves being on the stand!

They both thought it was very cool and got a kick out of calling the judge "Your Honor" and repying "Yes Sir". I was SO proud of them! And really impressed with the judge for being so generous and accomodating, too.
Unfortunately, I left my camera at home, because I couldn't imagine that the court room experience would be anything worth documenting. Bummer, too.
Because we actually had fun!

Christmas 2005

We spent our last Christmas in our South Carolina house in 2005. It was bittersweet for me. We had made so many special memories in that house. The house was filled with laughter and tears, struggles and successes. My daughter was born in SC. We have sweet wonderful friends in South Carolina.
We tried to make our final Christmas as special as we could, even with boxes everywhere, no family photos on the wall, as little holiday decor as possible, since we had to move on January 1st. John was still healing from the brain surgery and was still bald. But the boys worked hard at bringing joy into the house. I was able to find them a little Christmas tree to have in their room and they were thrilled about that.
Our cat, Oreo found peace and joy below the tree each evening. He had the true spirit of Christmas....and at least he wasn't trying to climb the tree, like he did the year before! hehe

And I couldn't help but gaze at my precious sons and my dear husband and thank God for my blessings. I almost lost most of my family in March 2005. I count my many blessings this year, for my family is truly blessed to have life and to be together.

After Brain Surgery

Here are some pics of John after the surgery. Right afterwards, he was feeling alot of pain and discomfort. He started feeling a little better after the 3rd day, but he still had quite a while of healing to go at home before he was feeling better and stronger. He had a shunt installed in his brain to channel fluids, that were causing swelling in his brain. The swelling and fluids were causing side effects of dizziness and headaches, hearing loss and pain. But even after the surgery, the Traumatic Brain Injury effects of short term memory, frustrations and short-fuse were still around...and will be for a very long time, we have been told.

Also, we have come to realize that the fluids that drain into his stomach cause John digestive irritation and elimination problems. John has missed alot of work due to "The Accident", and all of the Dr appts and surgeries and side effects. It has been a very difficult and challenging year.

Brain Surgery, Nov 2005

This was John BEFORE surgery. He's feeling optimistic because our pastor had traveled all the way to Charlotte, NC from Rock Hill, SC to show support and to pray with him before the surgery. John is looking forward to getting relief from his headaches and dizziness.

John's Elbow Surgery

At the end of October, 2005, John went into surgery to have the tendon that had been ripped from his elbow during the impact from 'The Accident" on March 14, 2005, repaired and replaced.
He was sore for about a week and we nursed him back to health. But it was still some time before he got full strength and use from his arm and elbow. And then a month later he had brain surgery. More on that later.

Carowinds Theme Park, NC/SC

This visit to Carowinds was very special because someone had given us free tickets. IN the past we had always bought family passes, but because of the accident in March, and Jackson's broken arm and ribs and concerns over Jeremiah's brain, we weren't able to do that in 2005. A very generous person on our local Rock Hill Freecycle group offered us the tickets and we had such a fabulous time together. We rode every ride we could...twice! haha! Our favorite was the Flying Dutchman's Revenge. The ride goes around and around, but switches cars from front to facing backwards while it goes up and down little hills. It's wild! I couldn't stop laughing and my boys and I loved it!

Paramount Carowinds Theme Park

We were given some free tickets for Carowind's end of summer/Fall bash. The whole park was decorated for fall and Halloween with lots of fun activities and free candy, pumpkins and other stuff. We rode alot of the rides and had a blast together!

Jeremiah's EEG

Poor Jeremiah had to suffer through 24 hours of a contraption attached to his head that was programmed to record the his brain activity and any abnormal brain waves. Jeremiah had been suffering from 'ice-pick' headaches and we were all concerned, because of the impact his head made on the asphalt and gravel road after he was thrown 30-40 feet from the van he was in during "The Accident".

Jackson' Cast Removal

Whenever Jackson is very nervous, he lets the stress run free by laughing like a hyena. I mean, it's like a cackling, crazy sound and Jackson doesn't have much control of it.....but it's his way of coping. And it's probably better than most people who either just keep quiet, or who scream and yell like banshees.
So, he was laughing like a nut while the nurse was using a sharp, noisy saw to cut through the cast. But once the cast was removed, the balloon deflated, and my sweet little Jackson felt the pain. And his poor arm was so skinny, pale and terrible itchy. Jackson wasn't so sure that removing the cast was in his best interest, after all.......

Jackson's Broken Arm

These were X-Rays taken of Jackson's broken arm and 5 broken ribs. We suspected that Jackson had something more than just the bruised chest, that the Albama hospital told us. Jackson kept complaining of pain and trouble breathing, even 2 months after "The Accident".

3-legged dog

During the Farm Field Trip, Jackson and the farm's 3-legged Doberman found each other. They got along right away and Jackson was sad to say good-bye. The dog seemed a bit sad, too. I think they related to each other's missing/non-uesable limb. And Jackson loves all critters.

Magnetix

Right after "The Accident", our dear friends and Godparents, sent Jackson & Jeremiah a huge box of these cool building materials called Magnetix. The boys got a few of these in the hospital and loved them. One big benefit is that because the pieces stick together, it is easy to build things with the use of only one hand, such as in Jackson's case. The boys spent hours creating cool rockets, space ships, and fascinating structures. Magnentix are way cool!
I have since heard that they have been recalled because sometimes the magnets can come loose from the 'tubes'. But my clever boys discovered that this little 'fault' is just another opportunity to create some more neat inventions.

Oreo & Jackson

Funny how animals always know what someone needs........
Jackson has always loved animals, and his kitty, Oreo is his favorite critter. Oreo seemed to know just what poor Jackson needed.....his furry buddy.

The Accident

Ok. I told myself I wasn't going to write much about the accident or how it has affected our life. Well, I will touch upon it, because I often feel that the terrifying tragic accident that occurred on March 14, 2005 is like the proverbial large 'white elephant' that stands in the middle of the living room always waiting, waiting to be noticed. And though you try and try, you can never just wish it away...it refuses to leave.
One day I received a phone call from a young college student that there had been a horrible accident where one of the college vans had hit the one in front of it, and shoved it into the path of an 18 wheeler truck, head on.
That van that was struck was the one carrying 3 of my family members, my 8 year old twin sons, Jackson & Jeremiah, and my husband, John. Apparently, when the van was hit, Jeremiah was thrown out of it and tossed 30-40 feet through the air and across the gravel highway, while my other son, Jackson was pinned underneath the van after it flipped from the impact.
My husband was knocked unconcious after slamming into the windshield when the other van hit them from the rear.
John still remembers nothing from a few moments before impact, until after he'd been in the hospital for more than 24 hours.
Jackson and Jeremiah believed that their Daddy had been killed.
Liberty University flew a private jet down to Alabama, and stopped on the way to pick me and my daughter up. When we arrived at the hospital the scene was a Mother's worst nightmare.
Jackson was asleep, drugged, in a hospital room, his head and arm wrapped. John was unconcious, his face, arms, hands and leg bloody, bruised and battered. Jenna was terrified of her Daddy and wouldn't go near him until I had bathed all the blood away......
Jeremiah was in the ER still getting stitched....and stitched...and stitched....over 75 stitches to his face, wrists, legs........this is where I lost it and broke down. My baby's face was mangled and raw like hamburger meat...tore to pieces....and he was screaming...in pain.
It was too much to bear and I cried like only a Mother can cry.
Because my sons are identical twins and they love being identical twins, the images of one of my twins' face being so horribly disfigured was even more painful......one of the first words out of my dear Jeremiah's mouth, was "I'm not identical to my brother anymore, am I?"
Oh God!
Jeremiah still has gravel next to his eye that needs to be removed, but the trauma was too much for him for a long time. Soon he will be ready, though.
He also had a 4" long wound on his ankle that required 4 months of twice daily wound treatments to heal it. He really needed a skin graft, but he wouldn't allow it. He was too traumatized.
Even 2 weeks after the accident, a hair cut, and several hair washings Jackson and I were still removing chunks of imbedded glass from the back and sides of his scalp.
Jackson had wounds on his face and arms that required stitches, but his major injury (well what we knew of at the time) was a broken arm. The inattentive hospital not only missed the fact that he had 5 broken ribs(!!), which we found about 2 months later while at our local Dr office doing a cast/arm check-up, but also that they put a plastic brace on Jackson's arm, as if he were a 80 year old woman sitting still for 3 months, and not an 8 year old active little boy.
Needless to say, when we got home and visited our Dr., Jackson had not healed at all....even 2 weeks after the accident. So, our wonderful Dr, placed Jackson in a cast, and for most of the summer of 2005, Jackson healed his body.
John wasn't as lucky. He suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury and a torn elbow/arm tendon which had become unattached during the violence of the accident. Both of these injuries required countless hours of missed work, stress, depression and resulted in elbow/arm surgery and brain surgery to install a shunt in John's brain to stop the fluid from filling his brain and causing swelling.
And during all of this, we were trying to sell our house, because with all of the post-traumatic results of the accident, we couldn't afford to live in the same house or area anymore. We needed to sell the house and move back to our other house in New Mexico.........and this proved more challenging than we had believe it would be. I will explain more later.