Hospital

I said 'Lets take him to the doctor, theres something not right with him.'

I walked to our bedroom and layed Mikey down on the bed, while I got dressed. Everything turned into a slow motion clip from a horror movie as I put my head through a t-shirt and looked at Mikey. He just layed there, not moving....not crying....just looking at me. His eyes looked at me and said, 'Mum notice me!' It was then I realised he wasnt moving because his body was paralysed. It had to be the only reason because Mikey was such a robust child, he would have got off the bed by now. I called D in and told him we had to leave NOW! 'Where's my flippin thongs, I can't find my THONGS!!!'

The worst thing in an emergency is getting dressed and it feels like hours when your trying to get your clothes on!

We got 3 kids into the car and couldnt find a doctor because it was Sunday and of course none were open. So we headed to hospital. Mikey had stopped crying since I picked him up and now chirped to us from his baby seat. His head was still tilted one way and he didnt want any water. He usually drank like a sailor so that was a little disconcerting. Every now and then he would blow raspberries, one of his favourite games and I felt he was trying to lighten the mood which was pretty grim by that point. He wasnt grabbing at the water bottle and still wasnt lifting his arms or legs.

We walked into the Fremantle hopital emergency room and Mikey was still limp. They soon realised that something was seriously wrong and said there could be blood on his brain, so we would have to do a CT scan. I held mikey tight and kissed his forehead while they put the drip in for his anaesthetia. He was so brave and hardly screamed. When he passed out I followed the trolley to the CT room and began to cry. I had been so strong up to that point and now realised that Mikey was in trouble. My partner was taking the kids to their grandmothers so I didnt have anyone to hold...only mikey and now he was out of it and I was left with my own pain. I didnt want Mikey to see me upset later so I tried to remain calm.

They came back a few hours later and said there was no problems with his brain but there was a deformity which had been there since birth and that meant doing another CT scan to see further down underneath the brain stem. His dad had arrived and we held onto eachother as he was wheeled away again. I was afraid he would die under the anaesthatic so I kept a careful watch on Mikey and so did his dad.

Princess Margaret Hospital was receiving the CT scans and advising the doctors on what to do. At 5 pm we were sent by ambulance to PMH and by midnight we were in a ward. Up to that point I had been laying next to Mikey so our noses touched and he would smile and talk to me until he cried and got impatient. It was a juggle of comfort the whole day, but as soon as we got to the ward he was in a crib so there was no cuddling in bed anymore.

The Beginning

Mikey didn't stop crying that morning, and the pillow over my head didnt block it out. It was my chance for a sleep in that I had been fighting over for 3 weeks. Life was so busy, 4 kids, two schools, two cars rarely togerther in the garage. Both of us working to make ends meet and both with ex partners to work around, our life was an amazing achievement but full of hard work. Thats what I was thinking when I finally got up and went to see what was wrong with Mikey.

I walked into the kitchen and saw D was holding him. I quickly picked him up and felt suddenly he wasn't himself. The more I calmed him down and talked to him I realised he wasnt moving like normal and his neck leant to one side. I told D something wasnt right and suddenly regretted putting Mikey to sleep the night before.

The night before...
I went to the video shop at 7.09 and while I was away, Mikey had one his usual tantrums at bathtime and had eventually thrown his head backwards onto the floor in his room. This was a usual occurance but this time he wouldnt stop crying. I got home and grabbed him out of his cot, while D told me what had just happened.

It was past bed time now and I knew he was tired.  I gave him panadol as he seemed to be in a little bit of pain and turned him on his stomach. I stroked his spine and  rubbed his back to soothe him. I could see he has some nerve situation going on.. his leg would shake when held above the body. I ask D what he thought about it, and we decided that he was probably exhausted from the unusual amount of walking practise we had done that day.

I massaged him for about 10 mins and saw he was falling asleep. I carried him to his cot and we put both the boys to sleep. He cried 30 mins later and I went in to rub his back again. He hadnt moved from the stomach position. He quickly fell asleep again.