Miriam

On Tuesday my baby girl took a fall.

James and I were upstairs chatting and our girls were taking turns coming up to greet us. Miriam was so cute when she came up. She played on the bed and wanted to be covered up (but I had made the bed...surprised? so was I.) She did have a throw to snuggle under, but quickly got down off the bed and headed for the downstairs and the sissy's. As we continued chatting we heard a sound that I want so badly to forget. We immediately ran to the hall and saw our worst nightmare. Miriam had fallen off the side of our staircase. From where she was laying, we assumed she had fallen about 4 or 5 feet.

She was crying as she lay face down, but when James picked her up she immediately stopped crying and turned white as a sheet. Her little lips were pale and her eyes weren't focusing. I decided to call 911. This was around 415pm. Even as I dialed I wondered if it would work since we live in no-man's-land and I had only heard rumors that we had access to 911 services. The 911 calls go to the state police office and they dispatch from there. The firemen were at our house within 15 minutes. That might not seem very fast to those who live in town, but for us Hicks it's lightening speed. In the time it took them to arrive I had called my mom to come over and stay with the other kids. Between the time the first responders and the ambulance arrived my friend Kirsten and Jason called. Jason was a volunteer fireman in a nearby town and I knew immediately that they had heard it on the scanner. They offered help in any way and I appreciated their thoughtfulness. After the first responders arrived, the ambulance wasn't far behind. (They had to come from farther away.) During this time Miriam had started making eye contact with us, but James says she was still limp in his arms. She had been "unresponsive" for about 4 minutes, but never lost consciousness. At one point I did see her move her arm. That gave me a bit or reassurance. And while she was being assessed Catie got her to smile. I started hearing the paramedic talk about a helicopter and Strong Memorial Hospital, which is our nearest Trauma Center. I was in a bit of shock over that news and decided that I needed to grab some clean jammies for M, her doll and special blanket. I also grabbed a few things for myself and my husband in case we had to spend the night someplace. (A few days later, as I was unpacking the other bag that James had packed before heading up I found his Bible. It meant a lot to me that in that moment he thought to bring a Bible.) The whole thing was a bit overwhelming and I cried constantly. Miriam was quiet as a mouse. Then they started putting a neck brace on her and strapping her to the stretcher. The fear was that she had a head injury of some sort and based on the distance she fell and the length of time she wasn't responding they thought she needed a higher level of care than our local hospital could give. Let me tell you, she HATED being strapped down. She began crying and fighting and screaming and kicking and SHE. WAS. MAD. and scared. It breaks my heart to think about it now. I just wanted to pick her up and hold her and tell her it was going to be ok, but at the same time I knew that all that activity was a GOOD thing. By the time they were loading her into the ambulance my mom was there and James was able to follow behind in the car. I assumed we were going to the hospital in Corning to get her assessed and then MAYBE flown to Strong. nope. The helicopter was already parked at the local CMA church. I was able to ride in the chopper with her, but still not close enough to touch her. Luckily she slept most of the 30 minute ride.

James went home and grabbed a few things including her car seat (that's also when he packed the second bag with that Bible in it) and started the hour + drive to Rochester. When we landed they took me away to register (which was very frustrating) and by the time I got back to Miriam she was off the stretcher and in the doctor's arms. He quickly handed her over to me and she was fine.

My wonderful friend Sarah lives only 30 minutes from the hospital. I called her before the helicopter took off and she was happy to come stay with me until James got to Rochester. Miriam was observed for a few hours, but they quickly knew that she had only suffered a Grade 1 concussion, which is the mildest, and probably didn't even need all the hulabaloo. We were thankful for the precautions taken and I got to ride in a Helicopter.

We are also thankful for our family and friends who were quick to jump in and do what was needed without hesitation. The news of Miriam's fall spread quickly through local church prayer chains and connections, and even made it to James' workplace.

My great friend Danielle simply showed up at the house. She was a God-send since she knows how to get 3 small children prepped for an overnight with the grandparents.

This is our staircase. I had taken these figurines down so we could have stockings up over the holidays and I never put them back afterward. We think Miriam fell from the step that the second highest figure in on. James plans to do something more permanent on the edge in the next few days, but these seem to help keep Mimi away from that edge a bit. She is the first of the 3 girls to stubbornly not obey when I tell her to "go over by the wall". That just seems to be Mi's personality and I love her strong-will as much as I hate it. :)

And this is Miriam the day after the ordeal. She seems no worse off. She's still stubborn and gets into trouble and won't go up the stairs by the wall, but that just means I have to be more conscious of where she is in the house. And her sisters have to help me keep track of her. They tell me when she's close to the edge.

And speaking of the big sisters...they were rockstars through the whole thing. Catie was simply amazing. She put on her brave face and when I kissed her goodbye and asked her to pray for Mimi, she smiled and said she would. Lydia stayed by Miriam's side while the EMT and Paramedic were assessing her and when she was being put in the ambulance she cried and wondered where they were taking her sister. Silas slept through the whole thing. He's amazing, that little boy of mine. :)

I was wonderful to end up coming home that night and to know that our little girl was sleeping safe and sound in her crib. I know the day will come when I forget this ever happened (well, not totally) and go back to taking my children's health for granted, but I hope it doesn't happen any time soon.