Forever grateful to the doctors and nurses who saved my son

by Kate Gray

I call William my spirited child. Like many 3 year-olds, he loves to run and jump, and does it without the slightest sense of fear. His boundless energy has always been one of his most endearing features, but in a split second, it also almost took him from us forever.

A few days before Christmas, my husband Mark and I had some last minute holiday chores to do so we decided to beat the rush by heading out early in the morning. As we walked out the front door William and I were standing side by side, just inches from each other. Suddenly, he turned to go back towards the door and somehow lost his footing. He fell backwards off the steps and hit the back of his head on the brick walkway as he landed.

As I scooped him up to quiet his crying, I didn’t see any sign of injury. No goose egg or bump, not even a scratch. In less than five minutes he had stopped crying and we had begun our busy day.After our shopping was done, we began organizing and wrapping gifts while William watched one his favorite Christmas movies. But shortly after turning on the TV he started complaining that his head hurt. Mark went to check on him, and within minutes poor William was vomiting everywhere. We put him in the bathtub to clean up and noticed how lethargic he was acting. He was so tired he even started to nod off right there in the tub.

All of a sudden that morning’s fall came back into our minds and we quickly got him dressed and headed off to the emergency room (ER) at MetroWest Hospital, to treat what we assumed was a concussion. The ER doctors ordered a CAT Scan, which revealed that his fall was far more serious; William had sustained a skull fracture and was bleeding on the right side of his brain. To best treat the injury the staff said William would need to be rushed to Children’s Hospital Boston. The transport crew was amazing and assured me that William’s vitals were good and the fact that he was alert and speaking were very good signs.

The ride seemed to take forever, but William was too consumed by the thrill of an ambulance ride to notice. When we walked through the doors there was a team of doctors waiting. Dr. Liliana Goumnerova quickly explained that William had an impressive blood clot that was pushing his brain about 2 cm, and to relieve the pressure they would need to take out a piece of his skull, then remove the clot. After that, William’s skull would be put back together and reinforced with a titanium plate.

We were able to say a few quick words to William before they sedated him and whisked him of to the operating room. Watching doctors and nurses wheel my baby away down a long hospital hall was unreal, like something out of a nightmare, and all I wanted to do was wake up.

After what seemed like weeks, Dr. Goumnerova approached us with a big smile, telling us how well the surgery went and that William was resting comfortably. When we were allowed to see him it was quite a shock to see his tiny head wrapped with white gauze and IV lines poking into both arms. But as soon as he opened his eyes all our trepidation melted away, giving way to swells of relief. The nurses gave us the okay to climb in bed with him and as we held each other, the realization of how incredibly lucky we were finally hit me.

We spent the next day and night in the hospital while William was carefully monitored. A repeat CAT scan showed his brain was back to where it needed to be and the bleeding had stopped. Just 24 hours after emergency brain surgery, we were on our home to celebrate Christmas. Needless to say, as we opened presents we knew what our true gift had been.

Today, William is back to his old self. He’s running, jumping and is as spirited as ever. Occasionally he talks about his “boo-boo,” but seems otherwise unfazed about the ordeal that almost killed him. When I think about that day I am forever grateful to the doctors and nurses who saved my son. People who were strangers to me that morning became some of the most important people in my life by sundown. I can never thank them enough for their dedication and will never forget what they did for my family.

Kate Gray is the mother of William, an active toddler whose serious fall almost ended in tragedy. This post originally appeared at Thrive, the Children’s Hospital Boston blog.

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