The Day My Life Changed Forever: Part 1

It was January 14th, 2022 and I just got home from picking two of my children up from the babysitter. It was just before 7pm. Piper age 2 and Rhea 18 months. I just worked a ten hour shift. I was a gynecological and obstetric Medical Assistant and lactation counselor. We got home and settled into the living room where they began to play. In other terms, they were going buck wild. Piper had gotten her Leo mat out and stacked it up like a tower. She was running from wall to wall crashing into it. I kept telling and yelling at her to stop before she got hurt. Yes, I am a yelling mom. I was tired of yelling so I sat on my sectional trying to create a store list and plans for the weekend. At the corner of my eye I saw an image I’ll never be able to forget. She went overtop of the stacked Leo mat. I believe my brain was trying to protect me because I didn’t see the part where she landed on her neck, I saw as she rolled on the carpet in front of me face up. At first, I said “Piper are you okay?” She never responded. So I got up and stood overtop of her realizing she wasn’t responsive then touched her face. She instantly woke up screaming. The face and scream that would continue to haunt me even now.

I got her up in my arms and soothed her. After she seemed somewhat calmed down I laid her beside me on the sectional with a blanket. I called my mom. (We all call our moms in these situations.) When she answered I said kind of jokingly, “I think Piper just kind of knocked herself out.” It wouldn’t come much as a surprise because my girls was always doing crazy stuff and jumping off the walls. She instantly was telling me that I need to take her to the hospital. I told her I would watch her for a few minutes and make sure she didn’t fall asleep or start throwing up. I was not really grasping what just really happened. In the meantime I called my husband who was working out of town to let him know and then called my mom back. She asked me how she was and if she had gotten off the sofa yet. I took her from the sofa and stood her on her feet. She instantly cried and was shaking from head to toe. I remember my instant panic and my scream to my mom. “Something is wrong! Someone needs to get HERE right NOW!”

I hung up and called 911. I remember feeling completely useless and so aggravated with the operator. They wanted me to explain in detail about this Leo mat. I eventually screamed at them that I needed someone immediately. In the meantime, my sister who lives close by beat the ambulance to me. She and her husband took Rhea with them. The ambulance arrived and they had me pack Piper to the ambulance. That was the last time she ever put her arms around my neck.

We got to our local hospital and they put a c-collar on her to stabilize her spine. They ran tests like X-ray and CT. They showed nothing. By this time she had thrown up several times and couldn’t move her legs anymore. They admitted her and planned to do an MRI first thing in the morning. Her Daddy made it to the hospital and when she seen him she said something that will forever haunt us. “Daddy, I’m stuck.” I had never seen my husband cry until that moment. We had been together since 2011. He laid with her the entire night until they took her away for the MRI. I remember thinking this MRI is taking forever but I kept thinking this is all going to be fine. She just has a bad concussion. To say I was in denial is an understatement.

We got back in the room and a neurosurgeon came to speak to us regarding her results. He had us come out of the room to tell us. I just remember thinking that everything is about to change. He brought up the images and showed us that she had a Chiari Malformation. He showed us what a normal spinal cord looked like then showed us Pipers. It was devastating. He couldn’t rule out a tumor but he did know that she needed surgery immediately. I remember standing in front of that computer completely in shock. Luckily my husband spoke up and said that we would like her to be transferred to Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. They said they would make some calls to see if they can take her. We stepped inside Pipers room and that’s when the world fell beneath me. I screamed the sound of grief. My whole body collapsed into my husbands arms and I was shaking all over. My perfectly healthy two year old from less than 24 hours previously might be dying.