This week started out fairly well with Varun being back for most of the weekend. We went to explore a new fun zone, at least for Abigail and I, a little further from the house and a little more expensive. It’s got a lot more things to do, but mostly arcade type games and it seems to be geared a bit more toward bigger kids. It’s a bit intimidating for the little ones like ours. It does have one feature just right outside that the girls and I love: an ice cream shop! They were really thinking about big profits putting that beauty right outside the kids’ play area!
Later that night Sara Gail had some fun with another homework project: bowling! She didn’t quite get the concept of rolling the ball instead of throwing it, but at least it wasn’t an actual bowling ball that she was using, and she had plenty of fun!
After the Sunday funday we all had together, the week had to begin and Varun had to go out of town, and offshore. Basically, it means that not only was he not in Accra, but he wasn’t even on land for most of the week. As I’ve mentioned the previous few weeks, it’s been getting tough for the girls and I, we all miss him so much and we’re finding it more and more difficult to pass the time without him here. We do our best to get by and play together as best we can. Sara Gail certainly loves to mimic Mommy at the market with her own baby doll around the house!
One major thing that has been helping me get through the long weeks of taking care of the girls myself is the weekly play date with the other expat moms. This week I hosted it at our house! I loved getting a chance to have all the other ladies over to my place, and to have the kids play with all our toys! I can’t really even begin to describe how much it’s meant to me to have a group of ladies here that is going through the same thing as I am (at least the raising young children abroad). And to top it off we’ve all got such different backgrounds it makes for great conversation. I’ve wanted this type of group of mothers since Sara Gail was born, my mother always had play groups with the moms in her area when I was growing up. It was a great opportunity for me to get to know my classmates before we met in school. And I’m sure the moms all loved the chance to just sit around and talk with other grownups! I can’t believe I finally found this over here in Ghana, but I really couldn’t be happier!
The week continued as it usually does when it’s just the three of us. I love my girls so much, but the days alone with them are very long. Sara Gail quit taking naps shortly after we arrived here, so it is nonstop, all day taking care of these young’uns. It gets really tiresome and does wear on me, especially recently. It’s always nice when I’m able to get a nice quiet moment of peace, at least during [some] mealtimes.
A matter of hours after this picture was taken, though, any thought of peace was thrown right out the window. On this particular day I decided to try and take the girls to the pool as an activity to keep them entertained. So, I headed upstairs with Abigail in my arms, and this next moment still replays in my mind, wondering what I could have done differently, but somehow, Abigail wriggled out of my arms and I lost my hold on her. She fell from my chest height, headfirst onto the very hard tile floor of her bedroom. I could have sworn I heard a crack as her head hit the floor. She immediately started wailing and I immediately panicked! I rushed her downstairs and put something cold on her head, Abigail and I sobbing uncontrollable all the while. Poor Sara Gail just watched on confused and worried herself. I had no idea what I needed to do at that point, I didn’t know if she needed medical attention or just a cold compress. I frantically tried to get Varun on the phone, but he wasn’t answering. I then called my mother who was able to get me to calm down a bit and focus on the next step: calling an ambulance. Luckily, I had [coincidentally] scheduled her 1-year checkup for the following Monday and had an email with our clinic’s emergency line. No, it’s not like the US where there’s one emergency line for the closest public hospital. I was able to get an ambulance to come out here, but while I was on the phone with them I started panicking again because Abigail was starting to get very drowsy. I was desperately trying my best to keep her awake and stop her from losing consciousness. Next, I had to think about Sara Gail, I couldn’t very well take her in the ambulance with Abigail. I rushed next door, still in shock and panic, and my neighbor was sweet enough to try to help calm me down. She offered to let the EMTs look at Abigail in her house while Sara Gail got settled in with her friend. And when Abigail and I had to get in the ambulance she offered to watch Sara Gail while I was gone. We arrived at the clinic and almost immediately hopped in another ambulance to get a CAT scan for poor little Abigail. Varun was finally able to reach me just before we headed out to get the scan and I was able to fill him in. He felt so scared and helpless himself being so far away. He was staring at his phone for hours trying to get updates. Of course, it was during rush hour that we left so it took us a while to get to the imaging center. We got into the CAT scan fairly quickly, but it was no easy feat getting the scan. I’m not sure how many of you have seen a CAT scan machine, but it’s very intimidating for adults to go in, let alone a one year-old! Abigail, the poor thing, was panicking herself, having her head sequestered and a big magnetic ring approaching her. I was able to calm myself down enough to sing to her and get her to be quiet and still long enough to get the necessary images. The EMT who was in there with me to help keep her still told me afterwards how amazed he was at how quickly Abigail calmed down, and how well I handled myself and calmed her. Unfortunately, we weren’t quite out of the woods yet. We waited until we got the images and headed back to the clinic. By the time we got back it was past Abigail’s bedtime and she was exhausted. The doctors gave the ok for her to go to sleep, so she dozed off. I finally got a definitive diagnosis from the doctors at that point: Abigail had a linear fracture in her skull with a small hematoma. They were not too worried, but they needed to keep her under observation for 48-72 hours to watch for signs that the bleeding was progressing or not. As any parent would be, I was completely horrified, and alone with her at the clinic. I felt better once the neurosurgeon arrived and put me at ease that most cases like this don’t result in any permanent damage. And as I’ve heard a lot of people say, kids are resilient. With head injuries in children, as the doctors kept reassuring me, the bones of the skull aren’t fully fused, so if there is a lot of internal bleeding, the blood has places to escape, unlike in adult brains. Luckily that wasn’t a worry for Abigail. We spent the night, mostly sleepless for the both of us. Sara Gail got to have a sleepover with her friend, thanks to my amazing neighbor! Abigail was stable all night, with just one small scare when she vomited toward the morning. But once or twice wasn’t cause for concern, apparently. We just got to spend the rest of the night, and the following morning in vomit stained clothes. In the morning Varun got in touch with his office administrator and filled her in on the situation. She was a huge help too and was able to stop by the house and bring a change of clothes for Abigail and I. Varun rushed back that day as quickly as he could and got back early in the afternoon, during Abigail’s nap. She and I were so unbelievable happy and thankful to see him. After he got some food and a shower, I was able to go home myself, get cleaned up, and pick up Sara Gail to finally see her sister, and her Daddy. Abigail and I spent one more night in the clinic under observation, while Varun and Sara Gail went home. She was showing all signs toward a normal recovery, so we were able to go home on Friday night. It was quite the traumatic experience for all of us, and it just scares me all the more to be living on these terrifyingly hard floors. But now I’m all the more cautious, and I hope the girls will be too! Also, please keep in mind that this is being written several weeks after the fact, so no need to worry about little Abigail: she is completely fine now, she just needs a few follow up appointments in the future.
As a final note for this week, I clearly didn’t get my market day with the girls, since we were in the clinic most of Friday. The following day Varun and I split up and got all the shopping done. While he didn’t go to the market that I go to, he was able to go to another stand for the produce and he insisted that I put this price comparison on my blog. The photo on the left is from shortly after we moved to Accra, “Hunting for Decent Prices.” This package of carrots cost 75 cedis, the local currency, roughly $15 USD. The photo on the right is all the produce that Varun bought for the week at the exact same price. It goes to show that I really needed to pay attention to where I bought my produce, but it also shows how much I’ve learned in the short time we’ve been living here.
Come back next week to read about more of our [less harrowing] adventures in Accra!