We are Blessed...

Hannah gave us quite a scare last week when she decided to run into the street without looking. A car hit her, which landed her in the hospital for a couple of days. She ended up having a skull fracture on her right temporal lobe, an air pocket, swelling and bruising, accompanied with a small amount of bleeding in her brain. I’m happy to report she is doing well and is expected to recover from her accident in a couple of weeks. I just want to thank everyone who prayed for her. It is amazing what the power of prayer can do! This is the short version of what happened, if you want a more detailed version keep reading...

I wasn't sure if I wanted to write about this or not, but I decided I should before I forget the details. Saturday, December 6, 2008 will be a day that we will never forget. It will be engraved in our minds for a long time. Luckily, for us it all turned out okay. But for a while we were not sure what the outcome was going to be. It started out as a normal day, we went to Charlie's birthday party at my sister Michele's house in Palmdale. Charlie is my niece who was turning two. It was a fantastic carnival party, my sister Michele always throws the BEST parties, never missing a detail, bounce house, games galore, pinata, crafts, nachos, hot dogs, popcorn, cotton candy, soda, sticker tattoos and more. The kids had a blast.

The plan was Grandma Nelda was going to meet us at Michele's house to pick up my kiddos to spend the night with her, so Richard and I could go on a date. Grandma arrived and I was trying to round up my kids to let them know grandma was there and it was time to go with her. I told Hannah it was time to go and she wasn't quite ready yet. So, I turned to Nelda and said, Lets go get their bags first and then we'll round up the kids. Knowing what I know now I should have gotten the kids first. Nelda and I crossed the street to go to my car. I unlocked the car and opened the door to get the kids bags, but realized they weren't in the back seat. I proceeded to walk to the back of the car to open the back hatch, then it dawn on me that they were on the other side of the car in the back seat. That's when I heard a loud pop, followed by screaming. I walked around the car to see what had happened. My eyes frantically searched around to see what happened. My eyes then focused on the ground. There was a body in the street about 10 feet from where I stood with black leggings, a jean skirt, a black and blue heart shirt, and long blond hair, I knew it was my daughter, but if I remember correctly I froze there in place for what seemed like forever. I then started screaming, but soon realized I needed to go help my daughter. I needed to see what happened to her, but I was afraid of what I would see. Somehow I reached her, I'm not sure if I walked or ran to her. I remember not seeing the car that hit her at first and was thinking why is Hannah lying in the street. But it all flashed before me and I soon realized she was hit by a car. I remember looking back to the driver of the car and wondering why she was just siting there motionless. She just sat there in her car. I remember Holly (my brother's girlfriend) was the first one to get to Hannah. I was surprised to see Hannah looking at me, I assumed the worst. Holly was asking her questions, what is your name, how old are you, etc. I was holding her hand, looking for blood, I thought there would be blood, but there wasn't. All these thoughts were running through my head. I'm not sure who called 911, but thank you, or who brought me my purse while I was in the ambulance. It seemed like a long time for the ambulance to get there. I remember the police showed up first and started asking questions to get the information they needed. Everyone else answered the questions for me, I just had to verify that the answers were correct. It was hard to focus at that moment. I remember someone saying Amanda just keep talking to her to keep her alert and calm. I remember not wanting to look away from Hannah's eyes, I didn't want to look away, afraid they might shut. She felt sweaty and looked dazed, confused and pale. The ambulance arrived, they put a neck brace on Hannah and put her on a board. I remember walking to the ambulance and having to walk by the lady and the others who were in the vehicle that hit Hannah. But, at this point they were standing outside the car and the driver kept saying it wasn't my fault, it wasn't my fault, the girl ran in front of the car. I don't remember looking directly at them when I got up close. My focus was on Hannah. I just didn't want her to close her eyes. I rode in the ambulance with Hannah while the paramedic asked me questions. I didn't want to answer any of them, but I did, I just wanted to concentrate on Hannah. Hannah said she needed to throw up while we were in the ambulance. The paramedic tipped the board Hannah was on to the side and gave me a huge white trash bag, but we ended up not having to use it, well not right then anyways. It seemed like a long time before we arrived at the hospital. We waited in the hall for a few minutes, while we waited for a room. It took three nurses and myself to hold down Hannah to put an IV in. She DOES NOT like needles or blood. I think Holly showed up first to the ER, I was relieved to see her. She let me know that she had contacted my parents and Richard, and that they were all on their way to the hospital. Richard was at home when he got the news. I don't know how he kept it together to drive an hour and a half not knowing what to expect. I'm not sure who came next, Richard, Nelda, My mom and Dad, but it was reassuring to have their support. I remember feeling so cold and helpless. The ER doctor said they were going to take a CT scan of her head and stomach and X-rays of her neck and back. I remember walking along the side of the bed holding Hannah's hand while we wheeled her to the room to have a CT scan. I put on one of those heavy vests on to protect myself from the radiation. The doctor told Hannah she needed to hold very still, that they were going to take pictures of her brain. They got her already to go and she said, I need to throw up, they scrambled for a bucket and made it to her in the nick of time. While they were taking the pictures I looked at the nurses' and doctor's faces to see if I could read their faces to see if I should be worried. Hannah just wanted to get the neck brace off. The nurse took it off and the the doctor came in and yelled at her for removing it. The nurse Crystal pricked Hannah's finger to take her hemoglobin and it was a 10, which I was told wasn't good and she would come take it again in a few minutes. The next time she took it, it jumped to a 13.8, I was told that was better. She gave Hannah morphine for the pain and reglan for the nausea. Holly said Hannah's feet were cold and asked the nurse if she could get her some socks. I really though everything was going to be okay, that they would just tell us that Hannah had a concussion and that we could go home. But, the doctor came in and said, she has a skull fracture on the right temporal lobe, an air pocket and a slow bleed on the brain. I remember looking straight ahead and trying to fight back the tears. I turned to Holly when the doctor left and asked is that bad. She tried to explain, but then the nurse stepped in to explain. The doctor said Hannah was going to be transferred to another hospital with an ICU unit for children in Fresno or LA. in case her condition got worse. Luckily, a pediatric doctor accepted her and she was admitted to the hospital. It happened to be Dr. Edralin who was my kids doctor when we lived in Lancaster. My head was spinning, one second I thought she was going to be taken by helicopter to another hospital and the next we were going up the elevator to the pediatric floor. I was relieved that we were going to stay at the hospital there in Lancaster. I think we arrived at the ER around 3:30 and left to go upstairs to a pediatric room around 9:00. Hannah kept throwing up for the next 24 hours. Hannah did not like using a bed pan. she was very upset and was glad when she was able to use the toilet. Liz was Hannah's nurse on the pediatric floor the first and second night. The first night I had a nightmare that the nurse named Liz was trying to run my daughter over with her car. I'm not sure if that vision will ever go away. It is every mom's worst nightmare. On Sunday morning at 6:00 am she had another CT scan. Most of Sunday, Hannah slept. She did have a priesthood blessing on Sunday. Lots of prayers were said on her behalf. I am so very grateful for all who prayed for a speedy recovery. The neurologist said there was more swelling on the brain, but if she could keep fluid and food down she could go home in 24-48 hours. The last time she threw up was Sunday around 8:00 p.m. Richard took the boys home on Sunday night, we wanted to try to keep things normal for them. I know he didn't want to leave the hospital. Monday Hannah was up early and in a great mood. She wanted to go play in the playroom at the hospital. We walked down the hall with all these cords attached. As soon as we got to the playroom, Hannah changed her mind when she saw another little girl throwing up in the playroom. She asked for some crayons and a movie to take back to her room. Hannah was so silly on Monday, that my mom gave me a pad of paper to write down all the funny things she said. I listed a few of them... Well, everyone was concerned about Hannah and were calling to see how she was and she said, "Tell everyone I'm fine and to go on go on about their business." She said to me "Do you think I'm having fun in this room?" I'm not going to order of the dinner menu because I'm going home after lunch. While I was brushing Hannah's teeth, she opened her mouth and said, that hurts, but don't tell the doctor because I want to go home. While I was in the restroom Hannah took it upon herself to page the nurse and ask for more saltine crackers to dip in her tomato soup. Hannah said she needs one of those systems at home. Monday night we were able to take Hannah home. We got home to Bakersfield around 9:30 p.m. I was relieved to go home and sleep in my own bed. I just want to thank my family and friends for all their support. Thank you for helping me through these difficult times. The next couple of days we had lots of visitors, prayers and phone calls. I just want to thank everyone for their prayers, thoughts, and concerns, I believe in the power of prayer. It worked for my little angel. I will forever be grateful for the chance to spend another day with my daughter Hannah, to see her smile, laugh and play.

My niece Charlie on her 2nd birthday

Hannah at the AV Hospital on Saturday night. By the end of her hospital stay she was able to unplug all her cords that were attached to her.

My little Hannah, look at that sad little face

My mom and Hannah on Monday morning.

Coloring on Monday

My SILLY CLOWN

I'm bustin' out of this joint!

Hannah after the accident, at home playing a game on her DS.
She has been out of school for about a week, and is totally bored. She can't wait to go back to school.