Oh What a Night

Tonight started out with the possibility of fun but ended with sadness and thankfulness. I was supposed to have a fun night out to dinner with some friends. Shortly after arriving at the restaurant my friend Jamie received a call from my husband. He accidentally hung up on her and that prompted me to check my phone to see how I missed his call... I hadn't.

However, I had missed a call from my mom. It was one of those messages I hate to get, my mom through tears told me to call her as soon as possible. A million things ran through my mind in the few seconds it took to dial her number, when she answered I immediately asked "What happened Mom, what's wrong?"

My grandmother died. My mom's mom who has been struggling with dementia and other health issues for a few years now died peacefully at my aunt's home several of her children around her. They weren't expecting her to die tonight but wanted to spend time with their mom. These are the moments that make it really difficult to be living so far from home. I wanted to hug my mom and hold her while we cried together but instead I had to hang up the phone.

A few minutes later came phone call #2. Josh told me he was on his way to the ER with our kids because Lilli had eaten some prescription medicine. We have all been sick in the past couple of weeks and Lilli got a hold of one of my medications, a cough suppressant, and opened the bottle. When Josh realized what had happened she had spilled some and had one in her mouth. He got it out but then she started coughing and threw up so he threw the kids in the car, shoeless and covered in vomit, and headed for the hospital. On the way he called Poison Control and they confirmed he needed to take her in.

I arrived at the ER a few footsteps behind them and as soon as we got her paperwork filled out they took us back to triage although the ER was full. Apparently poison control called them and told them we were coming, I overheard the nurse talking on the phone with them. The plan was to get her charcoal as soon as possible to neutralize her stomach and prevent the medicine from affecting her nervous system. In Josh's quick thinking he grabbed all the pills she had spilled and put them back in the container so we could count them and figure out exactly how many she had taken. She only had 1. Because we knew how much she had we were able to hold off on the charcoal and just have her observed for about 90 minutes before they let us go. Other than being covered in vomit she was her chipper, energetic, curious self and the Dr. was confident that she was in the clear.

Of course the sadness of tonight is obvious but there are many things to be thankful for. I am thankful that my sweet little girl is sleeping safely in the other room. I am thankful that my mom was with her mother when she passed away. I am thankful for cell phones and the ability to get news like this right away. I am thankful for Poison Control. I'm thankful for the Dr.s that made sure Lilli would be fine. I am thankful for my friends who took care of my bill at the restaurant. I am thankful for Holly who drove me to the ER and kept Roy occupied while Josh and I made sure everything was going to be OK. I am thankful for my family - those here in my home with me and those a plane flight away. I am thankful that this life isn't all we have. I am thankful for prayer.

And now I'm tired. This evening was supposed to be fun but it has been exhausting instead. I go to bed appreciating all that I have today because tomorrow is certainly uncertain.