Wednesday, August 4, 2010

It's Always Something

After taking three days off for the trip to Washington, DC, I returned to work on Monday and tried to catch up.  That morning Sean had been experiencing sharp eye pain.  I went home at lunch to check on him and there was no improvement in pain despite his having taken two pain pills.  I called the CBOC and was advised to take him to the ER.

I returned to work and made arrangements with my principal to leave for the afternoon.  I made some hasty notes for my substitute and picked Sean up.

We spent the next four hours in a dark room at the ER (the light was too much for his eyes) where he was given IV fluids and four shots for his pain.  As I sat in the dark I thought about how the last time we had been in at the hospital he lost most of his vision and how unprepared we were to deal with that change.  I thought, "What am I going to do if this gets worse?  What if he loses his sight completely, or if he falls and hits his head, or . . . or. . . or. . . "

Thus far we had dealt with everything as it came along and limped along in between.  I started thinking that I was in no position to deal with another change, and certainly not a challenge.  How would I be available to help him when I was already juggling so much and feeling like I was doing none of it well?

It was time to talk to my principal more seriously and consider all the options for our family.

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