First of all, I want to say that for anyone who doesn't believe in God, I don't understand your logic. This past Thursday, I had the scare of a lifetime. I was getting pizza out of the oven and told Maddy to yell down to Jeff that the pizza was done. Presley, who absolutely worships her older sister, had followed Madysen over to the gate. As I was cutting up a piece of pizza, I heard Maddy yell down to Jeff, then all of a sudden, I heard this thump..thump, thump. I don't even know what I did with the pizza at this point because my motherly instincts took over. I didn't have time to wonder what the noise was, my brain already knew that it must be my baby girl going down the stairs. The rest is somewhat blurry, but what I remember is that I ran over to the stairs to see the most awful, gruesome sight any parent should see. My precious Presley was rolling down the unfinished stairs with her head hitting each one until she landed on the concrete floor. At this time Jeff too was at the bottom of the stairs, as was I. He later said that he doesn't even remember seeing my feet touch the stairs, that in an instant I was at the bottom.
Poor Presley was screaming bloody murder and I just was in shock. Jeff scooped her up as I began to fall apart. We went up stairs to check her out. She had several scuffs and marks on her head. I was completely frantic screaming "We need to go to the hospital!" I could tell by the look on Jeff's face that he was just as scared. I grabbed the phone to call Darlene. Dear Lord I probably scared her to death. She picked up the phone to me crying "Please come over, Presley just fell down the stairs."
While waiting the 6 minutes for Darlene to get here, I was still in "super mom" mode, packing a bag for the hospital and calling the pediatrician. The picture of Presley's poor head hitting the stairs would not escape my mind. Sometimes knowledge is evil.. all those medical shows and long conversations with Kelly had my head spinning with all sorts of terrible scenarios. Darlene got here and we immediately left for the ER.
This was probably the longest ride EVER as I was holding Presley in the backseat. Presley's mood started changing and she became eerily calm. At this point, my panic turned in to all out hysteria. She looked up at me with these huge, blank eyes and I just knew that something was wrong. My stomach was turning and I was seconds from vomiting. All I could choke out was "Jeff, you have to hurry!" I just kept looking at my baby praying to God that He would keep her safe. Her face was an unforgettable grayish color and she kept wanting to fall asleep. I knew I could not let her sleep, so as calmly as I could, I tried talking to her.
After being behind every slow car on the road, we finally pulled into the ER. Running to the front desk, I told the admitting lady what had happened and begged her to get my baby girl back. Of course there were about 30 people with masks on thinking they have the swine flu. Jeff took Presley and then she started vomiting. I was so scared that she was suffering from some head trauma, so I went back up to the desk and told the girl "Please, you have to take her back! She's puking all over, please!!!" So, they got her back and started the initial evaluation. At this point Presley started to act like her normal self, but I was still a wreck. The nurse even snapped at me to calm down, but I just coudln't until I knew she was okay. They took us into a room and ordered a CT. I was getting more and more sick and Presley was back to herself. In fact, when the doctor came in to check her, she was chewing on her foot!
So needless to say, Presley's CT came back normal and we were sent home. The whole ride home I was shaking and feeling nauseous. I ended up vomiting when we got home from my nerves. I have never, ever been that scared in my whole life. I am so grateful that Presley is okay. Not just okay, but not a bruise on her! It's a miracle. She has a little scape on her forehead, but nothing on her body. I am in shock!! God was definitely looking over us that night. When we got home, Jeff counted how many stairs, since the ER doctor questioned us when we said 20 stairs. So we exaggerated a bit.. only 14, but when you are rolling down them, does it really matter????
Today is Saturday and I still haven't recovered from this. I just keep replaying the whole event in my mind thankful of our outcome. I know that life can change in an instant, and I will forever believe that God was looking down on us that night. Every coo, every giggle, every cry... I truly and completely cherish because in the moment, I thought I might not ever hear that again! Even now typing this, I get emotional. Thank you God for your love! God is good.
