A few weeks ago, actually three weeks from tomorrow, I watched my child fall out of a window, a second story window.
I have wondered for a a long time, how I would post about this.
Please allow me to tell you now, HE IS OKAY>

Here is how it happened:

Soon after Chris and I moved into a splendid home together, and the day before he turned in his keys, he and I went to his former apartment to clean it out. Since Donovan was not with his dad, like he would have been, he came with us.

We finished the cleaning part and were nearly done when Chris was vacuuming the living room floor.
Donovan wanted to be out of the way, so he headed to the opposite side of the room from Chris and the vacuum and the place he chose to sit was the window sill. A narrow ledge, not really 'sitting' worthy, but some place Donovan thought he could rest, while we finished up.
He was not doing anything dangerous, or harmful, he was actually trying to behave and get out of the way.....
As adults, we actually think about the things that will keep up safe, or those that will let us come to harm., call it experience, or age, but kids don't always think the same way. He didn't think for one second that he might be at risk for getting hurt.
One of the most valuable lessons learned by me in all of this is the thinking patterns of children compared to those of adults.

Donovan sat on the edge of the window sill with his left leg under his right leg, crossed. As I started to say the words "Don't lean against the screen" no more did about 2 of those words come out of my mouth when he did just that.

I can only speculate that the screen must not have been attached properly, for when he barely leaned on it, it popped out and he fell out of the window backwards.

This was on the second floor. There were rocks below, landscaping rocks, more like large pebbles.
The next few moments felt like slow motion.

I threw whatever I had in my hands across the room, screamed out
"NNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" and threw open the door and ran or rather 'flew' down the stairs to get to my son. Chris, my fiance, told me I continued the "NNNNOOOOOO" all the way down the stairs. He has also told me that was by and large, the worst sound he has ever heard in his life. He said it was as if my son was gone already.


I don't recall exactly the thoughts in my head:
I knew that going to the window would do nothing.
I knew that I could not catch him or save him from falling... I just ran as fast as I could to be with him.

When I got to him-- behind the bushes and around the stairs and everything else, he was already on his knees trying to get up. And he was screaming, loudly.

I wonder now if I should have let him lie there until the paramedics came in case he was seriously hurt, but I wanted to comfort him --- HE JUST FELL TWO STORIES....it seemed the right thing to do. In fact, it seemed like the "Mommy" thing to do.

No one saw him land, but there were some nice men across from where he fell who I believe saw him fall and came running.
As soon as I picked him up, it looked like a golf ball had been surgically implanted in his forehead. He had a scratch around it that was bleeding, but other wise he looked OK to me. He was ALIVE!!

Two of the 3 men who came to help were firemen, the other was a paramedic himself. The paramedic held Donovan's head and neck to keep him still until the other paramedics arrived.
While all this was going on, Chris called 911 and within 2 minutes they were there.
I just kept holding him close and saying to myself, "don't cry, stay strong, don't cry, be brave for him"
Donovan was really freaking out, my poor baby. I can't for one second imagine the feeling he had to have suffered while plummeting like he did onto those rocks. OR THE PAIN OF HITTING THEM.

I do know that for three days I could not sleep. I could not close my eyes without seeing that horrific fall OVER AND OVER AND OVER behind my eyelids. I still see it, but I have grown to understand everyday, that he had angels with him, that he could have been hurt a lot more than he was, he could have even been killed and that he was VERY LUCKY.

He was taken to Children's Hospital in Denver via ambulance and I rode along, in total shock, I remember I told Chris to call Donovan's dad and get him there if he had too, and to meet us there.
Then we were off.

While we went our way, Chris called and fetched Dirk, and called my parents, because Chris is that kind of thoughtful man who would do that. I have no clue how he managed to do so, as when we got to the Emergency room, I realized that I had the car keys to the only car we had taken to the apartment that day. But he managed to do it, and he was there for my son, and for me, and he let my parents know so they could come , too.

I was consumed with fear.
I could not comprehend what could be wrong.. they had him in a collar to protect his neck in case it was broken.
He had an IV placed in the ambulance, and he cried and he cried and he cried all the way there and he cried until we finished taking x-rays of his neck.
He fell asleep, his Dad came, his Grandma and Grandpa came, and I tried the best I could to keep it together for him, so he would remain calm.
He had CT scan, he cried some more. Whenever he wasn't looking for me or at me, tears ran down my face. Lots of tears ran down my cheeks that day.

After a 6 hour stay and lots of crying, and hugging, and seeing doctors, and talking with doctors, and blood pressure cups on his legs, and neck collars, more crying and finally calming down and being told by the many doctors that he was going to heal, he would BE ALRIGHT, they released him to go home.

He was ok for now, but not out of the woods, yet.

By the time all was said on done at Children's, he had been tested for internal injuries which he had none.
He was x-rayed, and observed and seen by 3 Opthamologists for his eye which was swollen shut and a sad shade of purple. They told us he had fractured his skull, around his eye socket in three places.
He had more x rays for his arm, which was broken at the wrist. They splinted his arm, which would be replaced by a cast in a week.
But the main thing is he was going to heal and be okay.

It has now been 3 weeks since the fall.
He is finally back at school, he gets his cast off in a few days, and he looks like someone hit him in the face. You can almost not even tell that he was hurt, aside from it being mentioned a few times a day, and his cast , and his red eyeball.
But I have to say this:
I am a Christian, I pray and when this happened, God and I had many a chat about how thankful I am that my son did not die, that he did not fall and and break his neck and become paralyzed-- that there were angels there with him.

My faith is stronger now than it has ever been in my life.
I want to acknowledge everyone who prayed for my son, and for me and for my family. I am blessed, so is my child and I hope that for the rest of my life, I will never take for granted the blessing of life.

He has seen more doctors in the last month, than he has since his birth. 5 eye doctors, one orthpaedist, and one neurologist. All of which have informed us, that he will be fine, his injuries will heal and in one years time, this will all be behind us.

I will never forget this, I would never want any parent to ever have to experience this type of thing. NEVER. I hope that I can share my experience with other moms and dads to let them know that danger does lurk in places we think will keep us safe.
That you just never know what might happen and when. We must always be careful. I know we can't keep our children from ever having injuries, but... we can try our best to keep tragedies like this from happening, and for our children never to have to feel such fear and pain.


Thank you all for reading.