Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Heart Thoughts
"You do realize that this could be 'it', right?"
"Yeah, I know... But it's probably not..."
And so we set out on our dinner plans for the evening. A place about 15 minutes away where kids eat free on Monday nights. The weather was nice and warm, and we thought it'd be fun to venture out for dinner as a family since our oldest was on spring break.
Just before it was time to leave, though, we noticed that one of Waverly's pupils was dilated and not responding to light. We weren't as alarmed since that had happened back in the fall, when we figured she got one of her nebulized medications in it somehow. But the other possibility if it wasn't an accidental mist of medication too close to her eye was serious. A "blown pupil" can also indicate a serious brain issue: a brain bleed, herniation, or a stroke. Any of those options would likely mean that night could very well be our last with her.
So the discussions started: do we take her to the hospital to get checked "just in case"? Do we wait and observe her for any other signs of a problem?
And so the realization hit us once again. Our lives are always on the brink of being transformed in a moment. What started as a normal day (for us) could end with her being gone just like that.
And while we knew the likely answer to this new issue was the same as before, we still had to face the possibility that it was a brain issue this time. We had to discuss and plan what our course of action would be if we saw that she was changing and indicating that it wasn't a simple bit of medication in her eye.
And reality came upon us yet again in a heavy weight. What seemed like a "normal" trip out for some dinner may be our last family memory...
Thankfully, she was fine that evening and through the night, as we woke up as a family of five yet again the next morning. But it's moments like those that remind us how very not normal our so-called normal days can be. And how very precious each day with our loved ones truly are.
"Yeah, I know... But it's probably not..."
And so we set out on our dinner plans for the evening. A place about 15 minutes away where kids eat free on Monday nights. The weather was nice and warm, and we thought it'd be fun to venture out for dinner as a family since our oldest was on spring break.
Just before it was time to leave, though, we noticed that one of Waverly's pupils was dilated and not responding to light. We weren't as alarmed since that had happened back in the fall, when we figured she got one of her nebulized medications in it somehow. But the other possibility if it wasn't an accidental mist of medication too close to her eye was serious. A "blown pupil" can also indicate a serious brain issue: a brain bleed, herniation, or a stroke. Any of those options would likely mean that night could very well be our last with her.
So the discussions started: do we take her to the hospital to get checked "just in case"? Do we wait and observe her for any other signs of a problem?
And so the realization hit us once again. Our lives are always on the brink of being transformed in a moment. What started as a normal day (for us) could end with her being gone just like that.
And while we knew the likely answer to this new issue was the same as before, we still had to face the possibility that it was a brain issue this time. We had to discuss and plan what our course of action would be if we saw that she was changing and indicating that it wasn't a simple bit of medication in her eye.
And reality came upon us yet again in a heavy weight. What seemed like a "normal" trip out for some dinner may be our last family memory...
Thankfully, she was fine that evening and through the night, as we woke up as a family of five yet again the next morning. But it's moments like those that remind us how very not normal our so-called normal days can be. And how very precious each day with our loved ones truly are.
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