THE BRIGHT SIDE

If you don't know about Silas' swimming accident, then you need to scroll down and read the post under this one before continuing on this post or click here to read it. You can also read my dad's account on his blog.

We are obviously so thankful that Silas is alive and healthy. He is a walking miracle. He truly is. So, in a spirit of thankfulness and looking for the positive spin, I am going to share with you some of the bright spots of the whole situation.

Before I list those things out I want to tell you how everyone is doing. Silas is fine physically. We need to watch him for the next few days for signs of pneumonia. Otherwise he's doing well. He is also fine emotionally. Tim and I are a little tired from the lack of sleep we got in the hospital, but we'll get a few naps and be good to go. Tim is doing well, though his direct involvement in the rescue has kept his mind a little more preoccupied than mine. My dad, his wife, and her daughter are doing well, though they've also been more emotional than I've been. My dad helped with CPR. His wife and her daughter were there when Silas was pulled from the water, helped care for the other kids, and called 911. I'm fine emotionally. I was not present when Silas drowned. I think that's a big reason why I'm doing so well, as I'm able to focus more on the outcome and less on the actual crisis.

Now, on to some funny, cute, ironic, and encouraging things.

* The ambulance called ahead to let the ER know we were arriving. We walked in the ER quietly, but the entire place turned to face us as we entered. Everyone - nurses, docs, staff, patients, guests, etc - had heard the call from the ambulance and were waiting for us to arrive. Then a doctor starts walking toward us, but she's not walking quietly. She's clapping and cheering, saying "Yes! This is exactly how we want to see you come in, we're so happy to see you coming in like this!" It was so awesome to be greeted with enthusiasm for the fact that our son, who minutes earlier had no heartbeat, was entering the ER alive and in his mother's arms. 

* Silas told us exactly what happened when he drowned, but it was very matter-of-fact. He had no anxiety at all.

* One of the nurses gave Silas some crackers to smash for feeding to the fish in the koi pond. He enjoyed watching them gobble up the snack he was giving them.


* As we entered the ER we recognized one of the nurses as someone from Simple Faith, our church when we lived in Ashland. She recognized us and popped into our room to say hi.

* Silas and Devon got to talk on the phone Saturday morning. Silas' end of the conversation went like this. "This is the coolest doctor's office EVER. Do you know why? You get Nintendo and movies and popsicles and Gatorade and apple juice and toys".

* Tim and Silas got to spend some quality male bonding time playing Nintendo on the portable station that was brought into our room. Silas didn't go to bed until 11:00pm because they were gaming together.

* There was fluid in Silas' lungs when we arrived at the hospital, but within a few hours much of it was already absorbed into his body.

* Silas was excited to discover that he could use his own remote control for moving his bed and turning the room lights on and off. He took advantage of every opportunity he had to control the lights.

* Despite having his vitals taken every 1-2 hours during his stay at the hospital, Silas slept for 8 hours straight!!


* After we'd been in the ER for a bit Silas started getting cold, so we asked for a blanket. A few minutes later someone brought a heated blanket to him and covered him up. You should have seen his eyes light up when that blanket touched him. He loved it! That sparked a conversation about how many heated blankets the hospital had. His guess, after a moment pondering it, was 1,009.

* My dad brought some stuff to us at the hospital, including some clothes for Silas to wear home when we were discharged. He grabbed the top outfit in Silas' suitcase pile and threw it in a bag. It wasn't until we were home that I paid attention to what outfit Silas was wearing. It was a lifeguard shirt. Ironic.


* As we were packing up our stuff to prepare to head back to Beaverton, my dad asked Silas what the best part of the weekend was. Silas' immediate response was "the hospital". He was so impressed with all the special treatment he got there.

* The first thing that Silas said after getting all wired up in the ER was "Did Papa and Nana already eat the pizza?" We had some Papa Murphy's in the oven when he drowned and his biggest concern was that he had missed out on pizza. As soon as those words came out of his mouth I said, "Our boy is going to be just fine".

* Within an hour of getting back to my dad's house Silas was asking to go out to the pool. He has absolutely no fear of the water.