Our weekend started out like any other normal harvest weekend. Friday night, after work, Kimber & I hopped in the combine with Daddy to go for a ride. He had been working late all week and Kimber was running around the house saying "Dada, Dada", so I figured they would both enjoy a little 'combine date'.
On Saturday morning, Kimber woke up extra early. 5am to be exact. Daddy & Kimber sat in the rocking chair watching cartoons while Kimber drank milk from her sippy. About 7:30 Nick left for the farm, so it was my turn to sit in the chair with Kimber before getting ready for the day.
At 7:51am, my phone rang. It was my MIL telling me I needed to come to King's bin site in a serious tone. She asked me if I knew where it was and gave me directions. Yep, I knew where that was. And then she said "Nick fell from a bin. I've called 911 and the ambulance is on the way". The second I heard those words, the tears started. She said that he was breathing and not to speed, but to get there as soon as I could. I remember putting my shoes on, putting Kimber's coat & hat on her and running out of the door. I couldn't get to him fast enough.
When I pulled up to the bin site, the ambulance was already there. They were putting a neck brace on Nick and getting ready to put him on the board. I saw him move his legs & arms. I was relieved. I heard him talk to the first responders. Again, I was relieved. He was moving and talking. Two good signs that hopefully there was no head or spine trauma.
The rest is kindof a blur. I can't remember if I went over and gave him a kiss. I know I wanted to be close to him, but I also knew the first responders needed their space to do their thing. I know I was crying. I know my MIL was telling me what happened and hugging me. I know I was praying over & over to keep Nick safe.
It was cold. Maybe 30-40 degrees that morning. In my hurry to get out of the house, I didn't grab a coat for myself. Sandy found a blanket for me. I wrapped it around Kimber & I to keep warm. Nick was cold, too. He was in shock. They moved him to the ambulance to check his vitals. We knew some of the first responders personally, one goes camping with my inlaws and another goes to our church. They kept us updated on his progress and how his vitals were doing. Luckily, they said things were looking pretty good.
The first responders called for life flight, which is typical in a fall situation. By 8:30, Nick was leaving on the helicopter to the hospital in Des Moines. It was so hard not to jump in there with him. I didn't want to leave him alone. But it wasn't an option to ride with him.
By the time he left, the entire family was at the scene of the accident. Great Gramma & Grampa, his parents, brother & sister in law and sister. Everyone was concerned about him. We were getting text messages from local friends that had already heard the news. I didn't have a chance to call my family until after he left on the helicopter and was driving up to the farm to drop off Kimber & my car. I called my dad and asked him to tell the rest of the family. It was hard to say the words out loud and I started crying all over again when I heard my his voice.
Great Gramma & Allysha said they would take care of Kimber and Sandy drove me down to the hospital. It was the longest drive of my life!! On the way down to the hospital, I was already getting message from people asking if it was Nick that fell. Someone had posted a video on Facebook of life flight landing on the road and news travels fast in a small town.
About 10 minutes before we reached the hospital, the trauma doctor called me to let me know the results of Nick's CT scan. Luckily, there was no internal injuries. They were concerned about his spleen and kidneys, but she said they were fine and would not need to be removed. He did bruise his lung and they would need to monitor that closely to ensure he did not get fluid in them and develop pneumonia. He also broke 6 ribs {ribs 2 - 7} and broke his hip socket. But overall, for the fall he took, his injuries were pretty minimal compared to what could have happened.
When we reached the hospital, he was still in the ER. We were able to go see him. The first words out of his mouth were "Where is Kimmy?". I told him I didn't bring her because I didn't think she could sit in the waiting room all day. That brought tears to his eyes. And then mine. As hard as it was to see him, I was so thankful that he was alive. And was not paralyzed or have a brain injury. Our lives would have been forever changed.
Nick was moved to his own room around 11am. And it turned into a very long day. He was waiting to get an epidural to ease the pain in his chest, so he could breath easier. They could not give him much pain medicine during this time. An nothing to eat or drink. All he wanted was a drink of water and they wouldn't even give him that! They kept saying he would go shortly, but he didn't go down until 5:30. And it turned out they were not able to get the epidural in. So he sat for 6+ hours in pain without much pain medicine. Needless to say, we weren't very happy about that. But once he got back to his room, they were able to hook him up to an IV and give him stronger pain meds. And he got that drink of water!!
Over the next 4 days, I stayed at the hospital with Nick to take care of him, while Kimber stayed at Gramma & Papa's house. As hard as it was not to be home with her, I knew Nick needed me and I wanted to be there for him. And Kimber was in great hands with family.
Kimber came to see Daddy every day he was in the hospital and it made our day to see our sweet little girl. The first day, Nick was still in the bed and she didn't know what to think about that. She didn't want to sit still next to him on the bed - it was more exciting to run up & down the hallways!!
On Monday, Nick was able to get out of bed and walk down to the hallways for physical therapy. Kimber was happy to see Daddy out of that bed! She even helped him with his physical therapy!!
We were humbled by the kindness of others while Nick was in the hospital {and the weeks to follow}. Sending balloons/gifts/food, stopping by to visit him, bringing meals and so many thoughts & prayers!!
On Tuesday, Nick was released from the hospital. He was able to control the pain with pills {and not an IV}, so he was allowed to go home with little to no physical activity. He needed to allow his body to heal. Which is easier said than done, when you are a farmer and it's harvest season!!
We were so excited to be home as a family. Kimber & Daddy missed each other like crazy and enjoyed snuggles in the chair every morning & night. Nothing melts my heart more than watching the relationship between these two!
I went back to work Wednesday-Friday part-time and lined up people to come visit Nick and bring him meals while I was gone. I didn't want him to be alone too long, but I wanted him to be able to get the rest he needed. By time I got home at night, he would be going stir-crazy and we'd have to take a drive so he could check out the harvest progress. It was hard for him to see everyone working in the fields and he wasn't able to help out.
After two weeks of being home, he was back in the combine. He was feeling pretty good. Still sore and couldn't lift over 10 pounds, but he was ready to get back to work. And now, four weeks later, you can barely tell he had an accident. His ribs & hip still hurt him and it'll take time to heal completely, but I am amazed at his progress!
I've always been the type of person that has enjoyed life and don't let the little things bother me {too much}, but after a situation like this - it makes you think that way even more. I love my little family and want to spend all my time with them. It also makes you realize what amazing family, friends and community we live in. People were willing to take time out of their busy lives to visit him, bring us meals and say a prayer for him.
It's been four weeks since the accident and I still tear up when I think about everything that happened and how different our worlds could have been. As I was sitting next to him at the hospital, I thought I could be sitting at his funeral instead of at the hospital. He definitely had a guardian angel watching over him that fall morning. Nick & I like to believe it was Gramma & Grampa Hicketheir that caught him as he fell.
No comments:
Post a Comment