FINDING BEAUTY IN THE CHAOS
Like I shared on Monday, last week was a hell week. It was truly awful, and I am just glad that it is behind me. But in every moment, no matter how bad things got, there was something to be grateful for. This post is not to shame anyone for not finding gratitude in their situations. I just want to remind myself that there is beauty in the chaos. And as a believer in a higher power, I see miracles in the pervious week.
My grandparents were in Charlotte when things went south last week
My aunt and uncle are both doctors, which means they could quickly check when something was wrong. They could understand and interpret what was going on at a higher level. My grandpa was encouraged (or glared at, I'm told) into going to the hospital because the doctors knew something was wrong, whereas any other family member may have brushed it off and said, "We'll see how you feel in the morning."
My aunt was working that day
When my aunt got home from work, she took one look at my grandpa and knew something was wrong. They took his pulse ox, and that's what put all the wheels in motion. My aunt gets all the credit for last week, and I think it helped that she came in with fresh eyes to see him in a way that anyone else hanging around that day may not have noticed his gradual decline.
My grandpa did not get on an airplane
My grandparents were in Charlotte, to begin with, because they were flying out to Canada the following day. Had my grandpa gotten on an airplane, he would have died immediately after takeoff. The change in pressure would have killed him with everything else going on.
My grandpa coded in the hospital
This one is twofold. First, it is a blessing that he coded in a place that could properly care for him. Nurses could start compressions immediately and had him back within four minutes. If he had coded anywhere else, he never would have made it. The other piece of this is that he did code in the first place before his surgery. He had an artery that was 99% blocked and an arithmia that lined up just right. I'm not a doctor, and I've only heard the details secondhand from other people who are not doctors, so I may be explaining this very poorly. However, the odds of him having that specific incident of coding were incredibly slim. But because it happened, the doctors could see and deal with the blocked artery that may not have been caught otherwise.
My grandparents were able to have all of their children at the hospital
This happened in Charlotte, which meant my uncle could be present and balance work much easier than if it had happened somewhere else. It also happened the day before my cousin was set to move into Virginia Tech for his freshman year, which meant that my aunt had already taken those days off work. And while my dad would have headed straight to Charlotte as soon as possible, he was much closer at the time because we were already venue shopping. I got to be up there because we were venue shopping. While we all would have made it work and been there as much as possible, this happened in a way that made it easy to be there.
I was at a complete stop when I was hit
Thankfully, I was off the highway and at a total stop. While this means that my car took the brunt of the impact, it also means that I didn't move very much when I was hit.
I was the only person in my lane
Luckily, I was the only one in the turn lane, so when I was hit, I didn't hit a person in front of me
The person who hit me was incredibly apologetic and took full responsibility
That person told me to call 911 and took full responsibility. They had insurance which will cover the repairs on my car (although I wouldn't be shocked if it is totaled). There was no arguing with the police or insurance about where the blame lies, which made the complicated situation much easier to deal with.
My son and I are fine
I had some mild pain from the accident that I did get checked out, but my son never needed an examination beyond the EMTs looking him over. I am so grateful that the only injury to come out of that day was my soreness and a beat-up-looking bumper.
We have two exceptional nannies that took care of Friday
I was still in pain the morning after the accident, so I went to the ER to just double-check that there was nothing else serious going on. During the X-ray process, I almost passed out, which led to a whole battery of tests, all of which came back normal. Thanks to our two amazing nannies, I could focus on caring for myself and didn't have to deal with a toddler at the ER.
My grandpa woke up, and he's back at my uncle's house
He's awake and, by all accounts, doing as well as can be expected. He'll stay at my uncle's for a few days before my mom goes up to drive him home. This way, doctors can watch him for a few more days before making the four-hour trip back.
My grandparents have an extra car
My other set of grandparents have two cars, and currently, only one of them will be able to drive for the next few months, so I can borrow the extra car for the time being. This means that I can still safely get around until I can get my car to the shop in a few weeks. And it means that if my car is totaled, we don't have to rush to buy a new one. We have time to save up some more and shop for a good deal.
I get to see my grandparents
Since I have to go back to my hometown to get my grandparent's extra car, I just changed my flight back from Canada next week. I'll fly back home for a very short trip, but it means I will get to see my grandparents, which probably wouldn't have happened for another couple of weeks. I'm definitely excited to have my grandpa back home and soak up some time with all of my grandparents, even if it is just for a couple of hours.