I put in more than 13 hours at work in the ER.  I got home, my daughter was in respiratory distress so I took her back to work.  She was admitted and is still there.  I went home to check on my husband Ron, because he wasn't feeling well, only to find him with a blood pressure of 95/56 and in an adrenal surge crisis.  So, back to the ER with him.  He's treated and released and doing a little better now. 

So, I get him home and up the stairs and hear the ambulance go out.  It stops in front of my house, then goes down the road... Same number address as mine, but south instead of north where I'm at.  So, I go back up to the hospital and hear "gunshot..." I know the family at the address...  Next thing I know, my 15 year old son is calling me sobbing... his best friend was shot in the abdomen at close range with a 20 gauge shotgun by his 14 year old foster brother.  Both kids are foster kids, both felons... why the hell there was a gun in that house I can't imagine.  His friend made it through surgery and is stable but in very serious condition, still waiting to hear more.  It wasn't easy explaining the injuries to my son and explaining that his best friend might not survive.  I don't think it's all hit me quite yet...

My daughter, is the one I've spoken about before, who isn't blood, but might as well be.  Her "father" didn't bother to tell her "mother" about her being in the hospital, so when "mom" called my house to tell her the kid got shot, she got pissed because my boys couldn't tell her why she was in the hospital after they told her.  So, she called the hospital and yelled and screamed at her and ended up making her cry so hard she couldn't take her breathing treatment when she needed to because her heart rate was too high.  She has my cell phone, so we unplugged the room phone so "mom" couldn't call and upset her again.

I've been up nearly 24 hours and I'm going to try to go to sleep so I can get back up to the hospital to be with her.

So, if ya'll have any extra good thoughts, prayers, or positive energy, would you mind sending them this way???

Sending every bit I got! Sounds a bit like my family a few years back...... Best of luck & keep strong.

Praying today is better for you.

Never rains but pours - HUGE hugs for you all and hope you have a better day today (o:

Thank you all so much!!

A little update... Ron is a little better, still exhausted and in pain, but still at home. Barbie is still in the hospital, we've been slammed so the doc hasn't even made rounds yet. She's really tachy, heart rate is low 130's to low 140's so they started her on Saline with potassium. She's grumpy and wants to come home. Her "dad" stopped by and yelled at her again this morning because she got sick,.

Austin, our young friend who was shot, came through surgery well. He lost 2 feet of intestines, has a huge hole in his stomach, and lost a kidney. He lost 4 pints of blood before surgery, but is conscious and talking. The next 48 hours are critical for him. He will undergo many more surgeries, but he's a strong kid. No word on how his brother is doing that shot him, but please keep him in your thoughts and prayers too, this has got to be hell on him.

We did talk to the mom and dad but they really couldn't tell us much right now, they've just got too much going on. The whole family needs your prayers.

I'm heading back to the hospital shortly, came home to check on Ron. I'll keep you updated~

Dang Beki.......... Really sorry to hear all of this. You and everybody else will be in our prayers..............

Please remember to take care of yourself too. You are no good to them if you are exhausted.

I will say a prayer for a speedy recovery for all.

Take care!

They say it is always darkest before the dawn so you are due for some better days!

Time to kick today in the ass, say "GOOD MORNING," and start over!!!!

Beki......... THAT is the right attitude to start the day off with ! YOU GO GIRL !!!!!!!!

Well, he's doing better!  He had surgery yesterday to remove the vent and the doctors believe he'll make a FULL recovery!!!  We're going to see him Saturday (he's 2 hours away) and take the kids so they can see him, but wow... what a week!

Thank you all so, SO much for your good thoughts, positive energy, and prayers, I can't tell you what they mean to us!

As for Barbie... the call went out to SRS and they interviewed her today at school.  Apparently they interviewed her brother too and he walked out on them.  All hell's about to break loose I'm sure and her "dad" called her screaming, threatening to come and get her and take her "home." 

She's still here...

Like I told her, if he was going to come and get her, he would have done it by now.  The social worker asked her where she wanted to be and she said with us.  So, the social worker is going to ask the "dad" to volutarily sign custody over to us.  If he does, great.  If he doesn't... then we'll end up in court, no doubt.

I'll keep you posted on everything as new information comes around!

Gee Beki, I wish I could take some of the load off your shoulders. It's been One hell of a week for you girl. Take care, you and your family will be in my thoughts.

Thank you everyone... it's getting better though!  We went to see Austin today and although he really did look like crap, he looked totally amazing!!!  He's been moved to a "regular" room, no more ICU!!  He's off the vent, and they're getting him up three times a shift to walk with PT to help strengthen his legs and get him moving around again.  He hates it as it really does hurt him, but he knows this is what he's got to do to get better.  Poor guy has so many tubes and drains in him it was hard to hug him. 

He's got a temporary colostomy until his intestines can handle doing their job, they're still pretty much in shock right now.  He's on TPN and will be until probably the end of this week when they're try giving him food, but more than likely they'll start out with a liquid diet to see how his stomach and intestines handle it.  He's on a morphine drip with the pump that he can administer extra pain medication if he needs it.  He was in and out of consciousness while we were there, but he was able to wake up and respond when we would talk to him.  His wound site looked really great, but his bladder's not really working yet, so they had to put the catheter back in after taking it out to see if he could urinate on his own.  He couldn't, so it was necessary as they did a scan and he had over 1,000 cc of urine in his bladder!

All in all, he's making a remarkable recovery.  It was so hard to see him like that, but I'm so thankful that he survived!  The hardest part to be honest though, was seeing my son's reaction.  He just sat there, staring at Austin with a look on his face that I'm not sure how to describe.  It's really made an impact on him.  I don't think he knew what to expect when he went there, but he kept talking about the movie he saw in hunter's safety class just the weekend before Austin got shot.  It was called, "One Last Shot..." two boys go out shooting and one didn't count his shots.  Fell and the gun went off, shooting his friend in the abdomen.  The boy in the movie died (it was based on a true story, btw) and the friend, both of them 14 years old, was tried as an adult and sentenced to 20 years for voluntary manslaughter. 

We learned today that almost the exact thing happened.  The boys were out shooting, three shots, only two fired.  They got home, the gun went off, and we nearly lost Austin.  This has all made such an impact on my son... he has been raised around guns all his life, I started him out when he was about four.  He knows what guns can do, he respects them, and he knows how to use them.  But even with all the training, education, and experience I've tried to give him, I don't think anything could have prepared him for seeing his best friend lying in that hospital bed, in such critical condition.

I can't thank you enough for all of your good thoughts, prayers, and positive energy.  I'm not a praying person, but I do believe in the power of positive thought and energy, and to me, prayer is exactly that.

I'll continue to keep you updated!!

He's walking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

all the best .

Austin's came home today!!!! I don't know much more, but it's nothing short of a miracle that he survived, let alone coming home in such as short amount of time!!!

       

We stand beside you in our thoughts, prayers and strength.

  Great news and here's wishing his recovery continues as speedily

Big hugs

Just a quick update, Austin is back at school and doing well!  He was back in the hospital recently for dehydration but has come SUCH a long way!!!  Thank you all for your prayers, good thoughts, and positive energy... they work!!!

Sooooooo pleased to hear that all is good

Big Hugs (o:

Prayers for all.

Well done in keeping it all together & herding everybody safely thru- some trying times.

Applied medical knowledge, officiating weddings & general all around compassion. All of us would be better off if they had somebody like you around. - I'm impressed

p.s.: What is a Mohawk doing in the middle of the Continent?