This past weekend we all went over to Kyle and Anna's house for some swimming and a cookout. I was anxious about the pool since it had only been about a week since Connor's accident, but we decided to go. The Olympics apparently had inspired the guys to do a dive competition.
Kyle was first up and he had a little advantage since he does this on a weekly basis in his backyard
Matt was next, I just kept praying that he didn't smack his head on the board!
He looks a little scared right before entering the water
Finally it was Chase's turn...I think he was going for the biggest splash/waves
And he definitely succeeded!
Connor looked like he was in a wave pool
Connor built up enough courage to participate in the competition with the big boys
You know you've had a good time swimming when you hands are this pruned!
It was finally time to celebrate Grandaddy's 60th birthday! We ended up getting home from the hospital around 1 pm and Matt made a big announcement that he was going swimming. The last thing either one of us wanted was for Connor to be scared of the water, but we weren't going to push it. Since Matt was swimming, Connor followed because those two are joined at the hip!
As you can tell, Connor wasn't letting go which was fine with us. At least he was in the water and having a good time with everyone. Not to mention, he now knew the meaning behind the rule: No getting in the pool without Mommy or Daddy!
Garner soaking up the sun. It was so hot, the pool wasn't even refreshing.
Baby Grayden, I just want to squeeze those cheeks every time I see him
The guys got pretty competitive with the volleyball game, but it was probably just Matt who was being competitive
Of course Connor had to get in on the action
See that serious/competitive face, he gets that from Matt Jones!
And then the frustrated look when the play doesn't go as planned
Matt seemed to be channeling his inner Peyton Manning this weekend
Grandaddy opening presents
You can never go wrong with giving him family pictures, he loves it!
It was also Kim's birthday and I think we did a pretty good job of filling up her Pandora bracelet
With the stress and exhaustion of Connor's accident, we decided to stay in Oklahoma one more day before heading back to Memphis. We promised Connor that we would go over to Reid's house and he could ride the horses.
He absolutely loved every second of it!
Then we ventured over to the two bottle calves that Reid had pinned up.
I have to say, I think this was Connor's favorite part of the trip. I also wouldn't be surprised if Santa dropped one of these lovely things off for Christmas.
Cooper would definitely appreciate not being roped like a calf anymore!
We'll definitely never forget Grandaddy's 60th birthday!
Friday the 13th will never be the same to us or the rest of our family. It's a day we would like to forget, but we know that will never happen. On Friday, July 13th, we woke up bright and early in Disney, Oklahoma at Grandaddy and Mimi's house to celebrate Grandaddy's 60th birthday weekend. Connor was completely rested, however, Matt and I were exhausted from our late night drive from Memphis to Oklahoma.
Mimi's new pool was still under construction, so we were using the above ground pool to stay cool. It was about 8 in the morning and it was already plenty warm for a morning swim. Connor swam like a little fish with his floatie vest on and he was having the time of his life!
Here's a video that I sent my mom that morning. He loved jumping off the steps to see how far he could really go!
When Matt and I were out with Connor for that morning swim, I told Matt that I didn't want him to get out of the pool using the ladder. In the back of my mind, I was afraid that if he knew how to use the ladder he would get in by himself. So Matt lifted him out on the side of the pool. We decided to have a quick breakfast and then Matt, Dennis, and Terry were going into the shop to do some work for a couple of hours.
Amber, Marty, Garner, and Grayden were on their way over to Grandaddy's house so Connor and I decided to get in the pool until they got there. I did exactly what I told Matt not to do earlier in the day, I let Connor go up the pool ladder to get in. We swam for about 30 minutes waiting for everyone to show up. Once they got there, Connor and I got out of the pool to say hi and hug everyone. I took Connor's floaties off because I told him he needed to get a drink and wait for Garner to get dressed in her swim suit. I remember the day was so hot, it was even hot floating in the pool.
We all went inside and Connor stood on the porch drinking his drink since he was dripping wet. Garner got dressed in her swim suit and I visited with Amber, Marty, and Grayden. The next thing I remember is Ms. Charle calling for Mom from the front door. I could see Connor and I knew immediately something was wrong. I thought he had hurt himself, but he wasn't crying. He looked completely dazed and had no idea what was going on. Then I noticed that he was soaking wet. I asked Ms. Charle what was wrong and she said that she went to the pool and pulled Connor out because he was face down. He had already thrown up about five times by the pool and when I went to pick him up he threw up again. I had that instict that something was really wrong and the panic started to set in. I looked at Marty and said we need to get him to the doctor.
There was an emergency clinic 2 blocks from the house. We jumped in Marty's car and headed down the road. Marty dropped us off at the front and I pulled the door just to find out it was locked. It was about 2 pm and the clinic closed at noon on Friday's. Marty googled the nearest emergency room and it was in Vanita, Oklahoma. It was about 20 miles away on 2 lane country roads.
In the meantime, Matt and Dennis both were making there way towards us. The shop is about 45 minutes away from the house, so they had a bit of a drive. Matt was calling every few minutes to check on Connor and I was trying to stay as calm as possible. But as I looked in the backseat of the car, Connor was starting to close his eyes. I knew I had to keep him awake until we got to the ER. Connor just kept telling me that he was so tired and needed to rest. I just kept trying to think of random things for us to discuss. Marty was driving as fast as possible with the emergency flashers going. I'm sure people thought we were crazy, but I have never been so scared in my life.
We finally made it to the Vanita ER and Dennis had already told them we were on our way. They rushed us straight back and started examining him. At this point, Connor could barely keep his eyes open. They put an oxygen reader on Connor's index finger and then decided that he needed a little assist, so they put on the oxygen mask. Next, they did chest xrays to see if there was any fluid in his lungs. The doctor said that it was a really good sign that he didn't need any kind of CPR and that he vomited so quickly after getting pulled out of the water.
Matt finally made it to the ER and as soon as he walked through the door my tears started flowing. I felt so guilty for what had happened and was scared for Connor. The ER doctor decided that since they were just a small town hospital, she didn't feel comfortable keeping Connor there. She suggested that he be sent to Tulsa's Children's Hospital which was about 45-60 minutes away. We agreed with her and she started arranging everything. By this time it was about 3:30 and we were told the ambulance would be there in about 15 minutes. Before the ambulance got there, the nurse had to start an IV just in case it was needed. Connor started screaming and the tears started rolling down my cheeks once again.
The ambulance got there and we loaded Connor onto the stretcher. He was only wearing his swim shorts, while I was still in my swim suit and a cover up. Connor and I loaded into the ambulance and Matt was going to follow us in his truck. Dennis was going to go back to the house and grab all of bags so we would have a change of clothes since we didn't know how long we were going to be there.
I've never been in an ambulance and I never want to be in one again. The driver decided that we needed to go full speed with lights and sirens. Connor was still so tired, but the ambulance tech wouldn't let him sleep until we got to the children's hospital. It didn't take us long before we got to the hospital, then we had to walk what seemed to be a mile underground to get to the children's side.
They already had Connor's room ready and the doctor was in talking with him within minutes of getting there. He asked all of Connor's medical history and wanted to know the exact details of the event. Matt wasn't far behind and was there not too long after the doctor started testing Connor's vitals. At this point, there was no waking Connor up. He was so exhausted and the doctor said that was completely normal giving the stress his little body had just gone through. He said to let him rest and when he was ready he could eat and drink.
There were several doctors in the group and by 6 pm we had already seen three of them. One of the doctors told us that Connor was very lucky and there was a very slim possibility that anything would go wrong over night. When you have a near drowning accident, you have to watch your lungs because there's a high possibility of them collapsing and sticking together. She also said that she had already released someone earlier in the day for the same type of accident.
Dennis arrived not too long after a few of the doctors had checked Connor out. Bless his heart he brought all our bags because he wasn't sure which ones we would need. I think total there was about 6 bags for our weekend trip! Matt and Dennis went to grab food once Connor had woken up from his nap and for the rest of my life I'll never forget what Connor said to me after they left. He said, "I jumped in the pool and when all the bubbles ran out I started crying and no one came to get me". The guilt was already there, but to hear him say that sent me over the edge. I felt as though I had failed him as a mom and that I was literally minutes away from losing him if Garner and Ms. Charle hadn't found him.
Grandaddy had no problem taking over as Connor's pillow! Connor had gotten some Zofran for vomiting while they were gone getting dinner and it completely knocked him out for another nap. (See all the bags in the background)
Reid and Kim made the trip to visit and they didn't show up empty handed! Connor had a bag full of goodies and a Cars balloon to top it all off.
We were telling Connor to point his ET finger
The brace on his arm was to keep his arm straight so the IV wouldn't irritate him and so he wouldn't mess with the IV.
Blowing the windmill is a way they get kids to use their lungs
They also say to blow bubbles
He did it a few times before he got tired of it
The hospital also gave him some coloring books and a big box of Army men with an airplane and helicopter
This was the next morning and you can already tell in his face he was feeling much better
I spent the night in the twin size hospital bed with Connor, while Matt slept on the hard couch. I definitely didn't get much sleep. I kept replaying everything through my head over and over and over again. I was so thankful that he was going to be okay and I was hoping that he wouldn't have a huge fear of the water. I didn't want this to be an accident that scarred him for life. We were released around noon on Saturday, July 14th and headed back to Grandaddy and Mimi's house to celebrate Grandaddy's 60th birthday!
This is the story: Connor got tired of waiting on everyone to come back out to the pool. He decided to climb up the stairs and jump right in. However, this time he didn't have his floaties on. He wasn't a fast enough swimmer to get back to the side of the pool and ran out of bubbles. Garner couldn't find Connor so she decided that she would just get in the pool and wait on him. When she got to the pool, Connor was face down in the middle of the pool. Garner got in and started bringing him back to the ladder. At this point, Ms. Charle was in the garage but didn't have a clear view of the pool because there were trucks in the way. She said for some reason she felt the need to check out the pool and when she got there she grab Connor right out.
Like I said before, if it wasn't for Garner and Ms. Charle this story would be much different. However, in addition to the two of them, I know Connor has a guardian angel watching over him everyday. The guilt will always be there, it something I just can't explain. Life can change in a second and you never want to take anything for granted.
Day 5 was our last day of the cruise and it was a full day at sea. At this point, I was ready to get off the ship. I was really starting to feel the effects of sea sickness and I think Connor was running out of steam also. We spent the day relaxing in our room, eating, swimming, eating some more and then a show that night.
Yes, Connor and I are pushing chicken nuggets on the back of dump trucks at the dinner table. As you can see, Matt was not too thrilled but whatever keeps a 3 year old entertained!
Our waiters adored Connor and said they reminded them of their own kids
I think this picture says it all for the last night...Matt was having a good time, I felt sea sick, and Connor was over taking pictures
The last night they had a dance class and Connor was brave enough to go up on the stage with Angelina and Bradley
Here's Connor in action, Bradley is on the left and Angelina is on the right
We had a fabulous time on our family vacation and are very appreciative to mom and Roy for the gift, most of all the memories!
