Hello everyone. I know I always have said that I dont care about writing a blog or that I dont have anything to say. Well I lied. I guess it takes a life changing experience to change your outlook on life.
That life changing experience happened on July 24th, 2008. My wife and two kids were enjoying an afternoon with friends and family. I was playing in the pool while my wife was holding our new baby. My two year old son Hayden is as most of you know very adventurous and decided to ascend to the top of the pool slide. The next thing I knew he fell from the top of the slide (6-7 feet) and landed directly on his head. All of us that saw this happen were freaking out. As soon as we got him up of course he was crying and as we all were dripping from our bodies, my brothers and I gave him a priesthood blessing. I was shaking from fear and could barely talk as my sister in law called the paramedics. He was bleeding from his ear and was crying hysterically as my brother and I tried to calm him down. My wife and I were in complete shock as the paramedics pulled up and tended to him. We changed our clothes and accompanied him into the ambulance. The paramedics recommended to us that we take him to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake so we did. Hayden stayed awake the whole time and was being very brave even though he was unable to move from being strapped down. He never lost consciousness and as we pulled up to the hospital he was beginning to calm down.
None of us knew how serious his injuries were until the doctor came in and told the nurses to get him into the trauma room. At this point we were not doing well wondering what was going to happen to him. Our fears were realized when he started to vomit blood. It was the single most disturbing image in my life and I pray that none of you have to see it from your own children. Minutes after this happened the doctors informed me that Hayden had sustained a skull fracture which caused a blood clot in his head. Emergency surgery needed to be performed by a neuro surgeon immediately to relieve the pressure. We were so distraught and prayed with all of our might that he might pull through this. We waited in the wating room as friends and family started to pour in hugging us one by one. When the Neuro surgeon came in after an hour or so of waiting my heart dropped fearing the worst. Hayden had tolerated the surgery well and everything went fine. He didnt know whether he would make a full recovery or not. We were happy that the surgery went well.
A few minutes later we were allowed to see our son in Pediatric Intensive Care Unit of the hospital. We walked in and were horrified to see our little boy with a breathing tube and all sorts of other things connected to him. It was so awful and we couldnt help but cry just to see him like that. My brothers and I along with my dad gave Hayden another priesthood blessing which I remember saying that Hayden would arise from this bed and walk. They escorted us out and we left our poor little boy to sleep. The doctors and nurses told us little about what was going to happen with him or if he was going to make a recovery. We left for the night and returned the next morning to see Hayden trying to pull his breathing tube out. He had awoken and boy was he upset. It was a great sight to see him moving and fighting once again. He was definitely not the same boy though. He was very irritable and upset when anyone would come near him. He kicked and hit the doctors and nurses several times and kept telling them to "Go Away."
At about 5:00 PM Hayden had improved enough to move from the ICU to the Neuro Science trauma unit. Most of the day was spent trying to control him. He was exhausted and refused to go to sleep. The nurses gave him morphine and other drugs to try to calm him down, nothing worked. The CAT scans showed that everything was normal in his head but he just would not calm down. Finally at about 12:30AM we were at our lowest hour. My wife and I were exhausted mentally and physically and didnt know if we would make it through the night. We asked the nurse to find some elders to give us a blessing. We found two brothers that came to our need. So right then in the middle of the night in an abandoned room, an older gentlemen whom I had never met before layed his hands on my head to give me a priesthood blessing. In that moment when he touched my head with his hands I felt a woosh of energy come upon me followed by uncontrollable tears. I dont remember what this man said but I felt the spirit stronger in that room then I had ever felt in my entire life!!!
We were reengergized and ready to help Hayden calm down once again. Finally after 18 hours of fighting him, I got Hayden to sleep in my arms. I breathed a sigh of relief. The next morning everything changed. Hayden was still a little wobbly but he would sit and read a book or play with toys or watch movies. He had completely changed after one night. After this he progressively got better and better. He recognized all of his family and remembered everything from before the accident. The doctors and nurses and especially the neuro surgeons were shocked at the speedy recovery he was having. Finally after three and a half days in the hospital, Sunday morning July 27, Hayden was discharged from the hospital! It was in all aspects a miracle! Even as we were putting all of his stuff into the trunk, Hayden saw his life jacket (the one he was wearing when he fell) and said "Daddy Swimming?" I wanted to burst into tears. After all that this little boy went through he still wants to go swimming. Unbelievable.
Looking back on this experience it is hard to put into words exactly what Emily and I felt through all of this. Every time I think that maybe it wasnt real or that it was a dream, I glance over to my two year old son and see his scar and even the smile on his face and it brings tears to my eyes. I dont know why this happened to our family but I know that the Lord knows. He has showed his power through his holy priesthood to bless this little boy and helped him make a full recovery. He kept us calm and our family calm throughout. I know that it could have been so much worse and that we are lucky to still have our little boy!
Dont take life for granted! We dont know when our trials and our tribulations are going to happen so we always have to be ready. Dont wait for tomorrow to be nicer to your kids or your spouses! Do it today because you may not have them tomorrow! The Lord watches out for us but only if we make an effort to be close to him. I know that he has watched out for Hayden. He saved him through his holy priesthood. I know that he did!
On Sunday morning as we were about to leave the hospital room, we knelt down in prayer. We thanked the Lord for sparing our little boy and letting him come home with us! As long as I live I will never forget the way I felt that night when a strange person acting on behalf of the Lord gave me strength to continue.
I want to thank all of you that visited us in the hospital, that called us, or that had Hayden in our prayers. Your prayers were felt and we are so grateful for them! Thanks so much to everyone that has been there for us.
We will be eternally grateful that the Lord has spared this little boy and has let him be here with us now as part of our eternal family. We love you all and hope that you appreciate what you have NOW! Grab your kids and tell them that you love them right now. I know I will because I know that the Lord has in fact given us our own little MIRACLE!!!!!
Love,
Shawn, Emily, Hayden and Caitlyn Allman
That life changing experience happened on July 24th, 2008. My wife and two kids were enjoying an afternoon with friends and family. I was playing in the pool while my wife was holding our new baby. My two year old son Hayden is as most of you know very adventurous and decided to ascend to the top of the pool slide. The next thing I knew he fell from the top of the slide (6-7 feet) and landed directly on his head. All of us that saw this happen were freaking out. As soon as we got him up of course he was crying and as we all were dripping from our bodies, my brothers and I gave him a priesthood blessing. I was shaking from fear and could barely talk as my sister in law called the paramedics. He was bleeding from his ear and was crying hysterically as my brother and I tried to calm him down. My wife and I were in complete shock as the paramedics pulled up and tended to him. We changed our clothes and accompanied him into the ambulance. The paramedics recommended to us that we take him to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake so we did. Hayden stayed awake the whole time and was being very brave even though he was unable to move from being strapped down. He never lost consciousness and as we pulled up to the hospital he was beginning to calm down.
None of us knew how serious his injuries were until the doctor came in and told the nurses to get him into the trauma room. At this point we were not doing well wondering what was going to happen to him. Our fears were realized when he started to vomit blood. It was the single most disturbing image in my life and I pray that none of you have to see it from your own children. Minutes after this happened the doctors informed me that Hayden had sustained a skull fracture which caused a blood clot in his head. Emergency surgery needed to be performed by a neuro surgeon immediately to relieve the pressure. We were so distraught and prayed with all of our might that he might pull through this. We waited in the wating room as friends and family started to pour in hugging us one by one. When the Neuro surgeon came in after an hour or so of waiting my heart dropped fearing the worst. Hayden had tolerated the surgery well and everything went fine. He didnt know whether he would make a full recovery or not. We were happy that the surgery went well.
A few minutes later we were allowed to see our son in Pediatric Intensive Care Unit of the hospital. We walked in and were horrified to see our little boy with a breathing tube and all sorts of other things connected to him. It was so awful and we couldnt help but cry just to see him like that. My brothers and I along with my dad gave Hayden another priesthood blessing which I remember saying that Hayden would arise from this bed and walk. They escorted us out and we left our poor little boy to sleep. The doctors and nurses told us little about what was going to happen with him or if he was going to make a recovery. We left for the night and returned the next morning to see Hayden trying to pull his breathing tube out. He had awoken and boy was he upset. It was a great sight to see him moving and fighting once again. He was definitely not the same boy though. He was very irritable and upset when anyone would come near him. He kicked and hit the doctors and nurses several times and kept telling them to "Go Away."
At about 5:00 PM Hayden had improved enough to move from the ICU to the Neuro Science trauma unit. Most of the day was spent trying to control him. He was exhausted and refused to go to sleep. The nurses gave him morphine and other drugs to try to calm him down, nothing worked. The CAT scans showed that everything was normal in his head but he just would not calm down. Finally at about 12:30AM we were at our lowest hour. My wife and I were exhausted mentally and physically and didnt know if we would make it through the night. We asked the nurse to find some elders to give us a blessing. We found two brothers that came to our need. So right then in the middle of the night in an abandoned room, an older gentlemen whom I had never met before layed his hands on my head to give me a priesthood blessing. In that moment when he touched my head with his hands I felt a woosh of energy come upon me followed by uncontrollable tears. I dont remember what this man said but I felt the spirit stronger in that room then I had ever felt in my entire life!!!
We were reengergized and ready to help Hayden calm down once again. Finally after 18 hours of fighting him, I got Hayden to sleep in my arms. I breathed a sigh of relief. The next morning everything changed. Hayden was still a little wobbly but he would sit and read a book or play with toys or watch movies. He had completely changed after one night. After this he progressively got better and better. He recognized all of his family and remembered everything from before the accident. The doctors and nurses and especially the neuro surgeons were shocked at the speedy recovery he was having. Finally after three and a half days in the hospital, Sunday morning July 27, Hayden was discharged from the hospital! It was in all aspects a miracle! Even as we were putting all of his stuff into the trunk, Hayden saw his life jacket (the one he was wearing when he fell) and said "Daddy Swimming?" I wanted to burst into tears. After all that this little boy went through he still wants to go swimming. Unbelievable.
Looking back on this experience it is hard to put into words exactly what Emily and I felt through all of this. Every time I think that maybe it wasnt real or that it was a dream, I glance over to my two year old son and see his scar and even the smile on his face and it brings tears to my eyes. I dont know why this happened to our family but I know that the Lord knows. He has showed his power through his holy priesthood to bless this little boy and helped him make a full recovery. He kept us calm and our family calm throughout. I know that it could have been so much worse and that we are lucky to still have our little boy!
Dont take life for granted! We dont know when our trials and our tribulations are going to happen so we always have to be ready. Dont wait for tomorrow to be nicer to your kids or your spouses! Do it today because you may not have them tomorrow! The Lord watches out for us but only if we make an effort to be close to him. I know that he has watched out for Hayden. He saved him through his holy priesthood. I know that he did!
On Sunday morning as we were about to leave the hospital room, we knelt down in prayer. We thanked the Lord for sparing our little boy and letting him come home with us! As long as I live I will never forget the way I felt that night when a strange person acting on behalf of the Lord gave me strength to continue.
I want to thank all of you that visited us in the hospital, that called us, or that had Hayden in our prayers. Your prayers were felt and we are so grateful for them! Thanks so much to everyone that has been there for us.
We will be eternally grateful that the Lord has spared this little boy and has let him be here with us now as part of our eternal family. We love you all and hope that you appreciate what you have NOW! Grab your kids and tell them that you love them right now. I know I will because I know that the Lord has in fact given us our own little MIRACLE!!!!!
Love,Shawn, Emily, Hayden and Caitlyn Allman
