My biggest worry today was supposed to be getting my dog to the vet. She split one of the pads on her paw and it looks like we need somebody else to bandage it. That and the new washer & dryer are being delivered this afternoon (let's hear it for doing laundry from then until next Monday - hooray.) But my focus was abruptly changed at about 8AM.

My older son (9yo) woke up just out of energy - seemed very tired. He ate and went back to bed. I made him get up and he told me that his body just felt really tired, really  heavy. His stomach hurt a little. No fever, but he just looked off so I told him he could stay home. I'm always suspicious, so I verified nothing big going on in school, nothing to worry about, actually going to miss his after school activity.

Within the 1/2 hour things got very scary. I got the other 2 to the bus stop & called my  husband. We decided that it would be best to just head to the emergency room with my son and not mess around waiting for an appointment time. I had no idea what was going on, I only knew that it was out of the realm of anything I had dealt with before and I was very scared.

My son seems to be fine now, but all the way to the ER I was trying to remain outwardly calm while in my head the voice was screaming "Your son is going to be wheelchair bound for the rest of his life! He'll still be able to do what he wants with a lot of help, but this is going to be hard!" Honestly, that's what I was telling myself while I tried to engage him in brief conversation that he wasn't up to having.

Once I carried him into the ER and they asked me to write down the complaint, my hands started shaking uncontrollably. I almost couldn't write anything. Thankfully, my husband arrived just then, so I felt less alone and vulnerable. THANKFULLY, it seems as though my son is fine. In good health. But I'll most likely be keeping too close of an eye on him for a little while. And I will never forget that helpless feeling. The fear in his eyes. The strength I didn't want to need.