Horse accident with my Mom....thankful she will be okay

[onemomsopinion]

My Mom was in an accident on Thursday night.    I knew nothing when I went to bed other than she was likely thrown from their horse and was in the ER.   She had hit her head and back.

Friday morning was a whirlwind.   I received an e-mail from Darla, my sister to call her.   I'm the only sibling that lives out of state.  They all live in the Johnstown, PA., area and I live in Colorado.   I was told she punctured her lung, broke some ribs and damaged her C2 in her neck.   She was moving, talking, and breathing on her own.     She was and is in ICU because of the lung and they had to put a tube in her side to drain the fluid.   Neck surgery was a possibility.   

I couldn't believe that this was happening.     My first thought that I had to ask Darla if this was life threatening and could she die.    I needed to know if I needed to immediately jump on a plane and fly home.    She cried and said no, I don't think so.   I would have been told and we would have called sooner.  

I spent the next few hours going on with my day as planned.    I was distracted, likely rambling and was on pins and needles waiting for my cell to ring.    Calls were made and received back and forth.    Neck surgery is out as she fractured her C2 in two places in different directions.   Surgery would have been too risky.   Instead, my Mom has to wear a Halo brace for the next 6-12 weeks to keep her neck immobilized and to allow it to heal.     They are putting the Halo brace on her today. 

I spoke with Craig, my stepfather at length last night.   My mother is feeling and looking better.   Her color is returning.    Things are looking quite positive, but we are still waiting for the MRI results from yesterday afternoon.    

In all the confusion, misinformation was passed along.   My Mom's lung collapsed and didn't puncture.   Estimated 40-60% collapse.   Several ribs were fractured and not broken.    Everything will heal and despite her injuries, she should be okay in time.   

She's received wonderful care, but Craig has yet to be able to find a doctor to talk too about what kind of care she needs and how involved her recovery might be.     I will likely be flying back once she gets released to help out.    I need to do something other than trading phone calls back and forth with my family.      Craig feels that she will be lucky to return to work in six months, but it's just a guess on his part.  He realizes that her recovery could take 6-12 months and he won't know until they discuss all these issues with him.

The plan was to take my boy with me and have him miss a few days of school.  Lynn, my hubby disagrees given how many issues Harley is already having in school.     He'd rather I fly back solo and he'll work a shortened work schedule and/or work from home so that Harley doesn't have to miss school and makeup assignments.   This is probably better as I can focus on my mother and the rest of the family and we can figure out what all we need to do for my Mom.    My focus won't be spit and this will probably make things much easier.  

Needless to say, we all feel that my Mom and our family was lucky.  Things could have been worse and turned out far differently.    I need to call my Aunt Brenda later to tell her about this accident, but I'm waiting on the MRI results as I want to ensure that there isn't anything else to be concerned about first. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Luvmykiddios]

Sep. 8, 2007 at 3:03 PM

Thank God she will make a full recovery wow...

[onemomsopinion]

Sep. 9, 2007 at 2:02 PM Thank you.  

(Original Poster)

[onemomsopinion]

Sep. 9, 2007 at 7:32 PM Update:     My Mom is out of ICU and they hope to get her up and walking tomorrow.   They put her in the Halo Brace yesterday.  She's uncomfortable and it seems quite heavy.  Given all she's been thru, it's no wonder.  

(Original Poster)