Wear a Helmet...

A week ago today, Justin, Avery and I set off for Indianapolis for a day full of baseball. Justin was going to play, Avery and I were going to watch. Justin plays on a 'Vintage Baseball' team - The teams wear uniforms, use equipment, and play by the rules/regulations of 1863 baseball. It's considered a 'gentleman's game' and is fun to play - and watch!

We arrived at the park and a friend of mine and I set up 'camp' for our babies on the side of the field. Right before the game started, we decided to move to the opposite side of the field where there was more shade and there was a tree to 'protect' us. (These games are just played in wide open -and often uneven- grassy areas, not traditional baseball fields) Justin met us when we made it to the other side and I handed Avery to him so I could spread out the blanket on the ground. 

I laid out the blanket and as I was opening the shade umbrella, *BAM* - the second hit of the game went foul right into my face. I just remember lots of pain to the face and lots of commotion all around. Avery started crying (I found out later it was because Justin laid him on the blanket to come to me) and I looked down at my hands and saw lots of blood everywhere, pouring from my face. Super scary! 

I had no idea if it was my head or my cheek or my eye... it was just a mess of blood and pain. Thank God for my friend Amy (who is a nurse) for a putting ice (wrapped in a burp rag, of course!) to my face right away, for Justin for rubbing my back and getting me a piece of gum to get the taste of blood out of my mouth, and for the woman who picked up Avery and comforted him during the whole ordeal. 

Justin called 911, the EMTs came (really quickly!) and flushed out my eye to make sure there were no pieces of my sunglasses in there. I had no vision out of the eye and was somewhat in shock, I think. They bandaged it up and after a quick snack for Avery (he stared at the white bandage on my face with a pretty confused look while I fed him in the backseat of the car before we took off!) we found our way to the ER. 

They were such troopers!

After a super long day (10 hours...) with an infant in a tiny ER room, two different doctors attempted to stitch up my face (come to find out, there was actually a hole gouged out by my broken glasses, so there really wasn't any skin to pull together), my vision slowly came back (the blood that was in my eye was what was blocking the view) and I've been visiting the doctor's office pretty much every day since. 

Putting lots of trust in Amy,
who took my stitches out -at home!

My Ophthalmologist put me on bed rest all week (quite the feat with a 3 month old in the house!) for fear of dislodging the clots that had formed inside my eye, which could cause permanent vision problems and/or blindness. After visiting a plastic surgeon, he determined that since the cuts were already scabbing over, it wouldn't do any good to cut into it and disturb the healing so I will just have to accept the scars and hope they aren't too noticeable and fade quickly! The human body is an amazing thing, though, and I'm so happy with how much better my face looks just one week later after the swelling has gone down and the stitches have been removed ...

 

Although I would've rather this just not happened at all, I am so incredibly lucky because it could've turned out so much worse than it was. 

I'm so thankful that I was wearing my big sunglasses, as they took the blow of the ball and miraculously saved any of the bones in my face from being broken. 

I'm so thankful I happened to hand Avery over to Justin less than a minute before the ball came our way. It hurts me to think of what that ball could've done to his little body.

I'm so thankful for the kindness and prayers from friends and family.

I'm so thankful that our insurance deductible was already met for the year after having Avery. :)

I've been thinking so much about fate and God, how precious life really is and how things can change so drastically in an instant. So hug a little tighter, don't hesitate to say 'I love you', and for heaven's sake, don't attend a baseball game without wearing protective gear - including a helmet.