Fall!!!

I am sorry to tell you all that after a year Isaac finally had his first fall. I am of course not referring to those minor ones like when he was learning how to crawl or stand. He had a smaller fall and a rather serious one all in the space of 2 days and I am even sorrier to say that both happened during my watch! Sigh……

Isaac has learned how to get off beds and mattresses about 3 months ago and he is fearless and will attempt to use the same method to get off regardless the height. I guess at his age, height is really irrelevant to him. So whenever we let him play and crawl about on our bed we will usually be very careful and when he attempts to get off we will always hold on to one of his arm and let him lower himself and will only release our grip when his buttock touches the floor. For the past few months everything was fine and there weren’t even any near misses. That was until Sunday.

Like every day he was playing happily on our bed and had climbed down a few times already. Each time he had so much fun crawling around, screaming and climbing up to my TV cabinet and threw whatever that was within reach onto the floor. After a while I will tidy up everything and then carry him back to the bed and the cycle will continue. Maybe I was tired after repeating the cycle for a while and got careless or perhaps he was getting quicker because one time he was getting off from his weaker side (he is better at climbing off from his right) he slipped and although he landed on his bum he still fell backward and knocked his head on the cold hard floor.

Needless to say he cried but due to the impact being not that bad he was back to his normal mischievous self in a few minutes’ time. He was climbing down from the bed again and again.

The major one was on Monday night. The Mrs and Ani were busy in the kitchen going through what groceries to buy when they go out the next day and Isaac was playing on his own in the cot in front of the sofa where I was replying to work emails. He was throwing his toys at me and I will throw them back in. Then unbeknownst to me he threw a ball and it landed on a table which is about a metre away from the cot and he was trying to reach out and grab the ball. The next thing I saw was his 2 legs in mid air and he toppled over head first onto the ground.

He was probably in shock and there was a delayed reaction of about 2 seconds before he wailed after I picked him up and held him tightly in my arms. All the while I was rubbing the back of his head and walking around the house. The Mrs and Ani came running out when they heard me shouting “Oh no! Oh no!” right before he toppled over. The Mrs was about to burst into tears when she saw our precious baby on the floor. It took about 10 minutes and the combined effort of all 3 of us before he quieten down.

Once he was better he began to crawl around on the floor again but this time I was like a hawk watching over him. No matter where he crawled to I was directly behind him with extended arms waiting just in case. While he was busy throwing things off the TV cabinet again I was there rubbing his head and checking for lumps or bruises. Thankfully there was none.

I felt so horrible and kept on replaying the scene with his legs in mid air over and over again in my head. I was feeling uneasy the whole night but luckily he was able to finish his milk and slept with no problem. I even requested for the Mrs to enter Ani’s room to check on him a few times before we slept.

The Mrs knew I was very worried so she directed me to the SMH forum to read about other mothers’ experiences. From what I read, other than the height where Isaac fell from it wasn’t too bad in relation to what some other babies had to go through. I know it sounds bad but after reading these mothers’ experiences and know that their babies came out fine and probably even stronger I began to feel a little more assured.

The Mrs had to get an injection from the A&E at Mt E sometime around midnight so I told her to check with either the nurse or Doctor attending to her on what to look out for with Isaac’s fall. Below is taken from a leaflet that the kind nurse had given to us so I thought I share with all of you.

Head Injury Advice

The following are basic general information and advice on the above condition. The list is not exhaustive. In specific cases, the advice and instruction from your doctor may differ. Please follow your doctor's advice and seek clarification if in doubt.

After a head injury, please observe the patient closely for 24 hours, if there are no problem within 24 hours, the patient is usually fine. Occasionally, a problem may creep up later but being aware of what to look out for should safe guard against any late effects of the head injury.

Return to the emergency department if any of these symptoms arise:

1. Persistent vomiting more than 3 times

2. Persistent or worsening headaches more than 24 hours especially if not relieved with simple medication such as Panadol

3. Seizures

4. Any change in mental state e.g. confusion, unusual behaviour, memory loss

5. Drowsiness or difficulty in rousing

6. Visual blurring, unequal pupil size

7. Blood or clear fluid seen discharging from nose or ear

8. Any loss of sensation, strength of arms or limbs

Do not give any medication to the patient that may cause drowsiness e.g. cough and cold preparations.

## The above are information taken from the Parkway Health's 'Take Home Advice' leaflet found in the Mt E emergency ward.

Since Isaac is still very much a baby and hence the basic we had to look out for are giddiness; odd behaviour and vomiting.

Fast forward to the next morning, I was woken up by his banging and screaming. I never thought such noise will one morning be music to my ears! I immediately knew that the little rascal is fine and had probably forgotten about his dad’s failure to protect him the night before.

Now that we have gotten his first fall out of the way let us prepare ourselves for his many other firsts, both good and bad!!