Angels in unlikely places

I titled this post so because of the wonderful angels we have encountered this week-- nurses, doctors, friends, family, acquaintances from home, acquaintances at the RMH. Angels are definitely everywhere!

We have had incredible people step up and step into our lives this last week. They have done things from praying, calling, and texting daily-- to handing us cash, paying for things for us unknown to us and offering us help, ears and apartments to stay in!

Our son Samuel was injured last Tuesday by aself inflicted bullet from a .22 calibre rifle. It was accidental -- practising air cadet drill team maneuvers. It entered into his head on the right side just above the hair line and pierced thru 3 lobes of his brain. The bullet is still lodged in his brain. (it is more traumatic and damaging to his brain to remove it). He was in surgery for 2 hours( cleaning the wound and irrigating it and stitching him up again). Since the bullet entered the side of his head it is affecting the left side of his body.

He was at his grandparents target practicing with his brother when it happened. They rushed him to Neepawa where he was assessed and rushed by ambulance to the Winnipeg Health Science Centre



The first assessment we were given was that we were to expect to be here for at least a month, he would have 1/2 the vision in his left eye (peripheral vision) so he would have to readjust his depth perception and other vision issues. he would would probably have a weak left side arm and legs and face. We were told he may not start school in the fall with the other students since there would be much physical therapy, occupational therapy and other sessions to have to start and deal with. They were unsure what brain damage there would be if any.

after being given all this information we were taken to wait while he was in surgery then eventually to the PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit) to see him. Samuel was attached to far too many machines for any mother to see their child attached to. He had a breathing tube, IV's with multiple fluids being injected into his body, a pressure monitor stapled to his head and all sorts of stickies on his chest and back to monitor his vitals. to say the least i was a bit set back.

Then he signed "I love you"...

The first night was a rough on for him as we also discovered that my boy has sleep apnea, which was causing his pressure monitor to go ballistic on him... raising the pressure to 50 (it needed to stay at 20 or lower in order for him to heal and not have major brain swelling!) So now he is also in a sleep program (or will be 6-8weeks after being discharged from the HSC)... so much new things to deal with.

Sam's recovery has been great tho so far! He was off the breathing machine on Wednesday, the pressure monitor was removed Thursday and they took the tube out of his nose also on Thursday. Early Friday afternoon Sam was moved from the PICU to ward CK-3!!! YAY! a regular ward... which meant eventually we would return to normal, or as normal as we were going to get for a while.

I know i will have to go back and add things that i have missed but as it comes to me and i have time to use the journal i am using to record in daily. ( i will use it to transfer to here)

thank you for all your prayers and concerns. Our lives have changed drastically this last week but i know God has a plan for us and we will follow where He takes us.