Sunday, August 17, 2008

Videos games are bad for you.

A medical mystery has descended upon the Neipert household.  Christopher blacked out Saturday morning around 2:00 am, fell and hit the back of his head on the concrete in the garage.  He spent 24 hours in the ICU and is now in the Cardiac Unit at Iowa Methodist Hospital.  What a trip.

Friday was a fairly normal day for us.  Chris took the day off to golf with his friend Jim and then we all went to the fair that evening for dinner.  The boys and I came home with my parents and Chris and Jim stayed at the fair.  Jim had never been so they wanted to look around and see the sights.  After that they headed to Ames to see a friend, Scott and got back home around 1:00 - 1:30 am.  The night owls that they are decided to play a little Xbox and had been playing for about 20 - 30 minutes when Chris very suddenly said he felt a little dizzy.  The next thing Jim knew, Chris was falling to the floor.  Jim said he was unconsious for about 5 -10 seconds and when he woke up all he wanted to do was get inside to the couch.  Chris has since told me that remembers being on the garage floor and remembers being on the couch but doesn't remember getting there.  Side note - they did not wake me up.

When I aroused from my evening slumber, I found Christopher laying on the bathroom floor.  This was around 6:00 am.  Jim's wife, Nicole and their 2 boys were coming to visit and we were all headed to the zoo.  Well, being the kind, thoughtful and gentle wife that I am, I gave him the silent treatment.  How dare he go out the night before and get drunk.  Now I had to deal with a hung-over husband all day at the zoo.  Fun for me! (Because it is all about me!)  I even went as far as to step over him and take a shower while he went back and forth from laying on the floor to praying to the porcelain gods.  Jim got up around 9:00 and I asked him what he had done to my husband.  He laughed and then got confused and then got concerned.  Imagine to my horror that I have just spent the last 3 hours ignoring a man with a severe concussion who had not an ounce of alcohol to drink.  Wife of the year award - GONE!

It took forever to get Christopher into the car.  He wouldn't stay awake and when he sat up he kept dry heaving.  I finally got him into the car and off we went to the walk-in clinic.  WALK-IN CLINIC!  What was I thinking.  They immediately told me that they could not meet his needs and did I need an ambulance to transport him to the hospital.  Runner-up to wife of the year - NO CHANCE!

Finally I get him to the ER and he has a CT scan and is diagnosed with a concussion and a subdermal hematoma -  5 mm bleed on the brain.  They admitted him into the ICU and the shock took quite awhile to shake off.  I am trying to stay calm and make sure my kids are being taken care of by someone (my wonderful parents, great friends Jim and Nicole and my awesome cousin Tome and her equally awesome husband Andy!) and I am having to try and figure out how to explain to Christopher's parents the horrible treatment he has received from me in the last 5 hours and why I didn't call sooner to tell them he was bleeding in his BRAIN!  Daughter-in-law of the year - NEVER!

So now it is just a waiting game.  Christopher is doing better although it doesn't always seem like it.  He has about 2 -3 hours of feeling good out of every 6 -7 hours.  The other 3 -4 hours his head hurts immensely and his waivers on the brink of vomiting AGAIN.  He was moved to the Cardiac Floor because of a slow heart rate (40 - 45 bpm) and is going through a battery of tests to figure out if that is the reason he blacked out in the first place.  I personally think he was dehydrated and sleep deprived (too much Mt Dew and late night movies) but I am thankful that they are checking all sources of the possible problem.  

Christopher has had some very good nurses and one bad one (Brenda!) and his doctor, Dr. Piper is very nice.  He wants to come home but I am afraid he will not be coming for another couple of days.  So for him that means more sleep and round the clock care and for me that means another night in Hotel Methodist!  Just as long as he gets better...  

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