The first Friday night of our stay in Birmingham required the divide and conquer method of parenting. Anyone who has more than one child understands this and has had to apply it. It is never easy, and you always feel like you are shortchanging one of your kids.

Reed and I had only been separated during our stay so that he could go outside and put his feet on grass. Being secluded indoors is no big deal for me, but for my farmer country-boy, he missed the feeling of the dirt and grass beneath his boots.

It was mid-season football of our second son’s junior year. (I was so thankful, once again, that we had made the decision to hold him back in the 8th grade, otherwise, this would have happened his senior year!) It had been a week since I had seen my kids and my 2 week old granddaughter. I missed them. Reed needs his dirt, but I need my offspring!

We decided Reed would go to the game for Zack, and I would stay at the hospital with Ethan. He would return later that night after the football game to Birmingham with Anslie and Zack. Reed was going to leave shortly after lunch. He needed to run by the wrecker yard in Florence, where my truck was, to recover some of the things of value that were left behind in our hurry to get to the hospital as well as settle any fees associated. The plan was for him to stay and watch the football game and then return to Birmingham later that night. We received news that a room was available at the Ronald McDonald House, and they would all stay there that night. It was such a blessing, since the house was only a block away from the hospital. It would be a place of retreat in the days ahead. It also served as a place for us to store things that had been sent. I was told that to secure the room, I would need to go check-in and give the proper identification. So I went to do that before Reed left, however, I was not able to complete the process because the person who would be handling that was not available or something, I can’t remember why, just that I had to come back later. I went back to the hospital and told Reed goodbye. It was just me and E. While Reed was gone, Ethan spiked a fever, and his blood pressure was not staying within normal ranges. I just wonder if that baby knew his daddy had left causing the numbers to spike. The nurses handled it, and I sat in my corner.

I heard that the football team would all be wearing EM on their helmets that night in honor of their teammate’s little brother who was so critical. I know the elementary kids playing football that night around the bleachers must have remembered their buddy Ethan playing with them just a week ago. A few moms told me that their child sat with them that night the whole game in the bleachers because “playing just wasn’t the same without Ethan.” I told Ethan about the sticker on the helmet and his blood pressure would go up. I would remind him that Zack was playing football, and we would go watch him when he woke up. It would go up again. The nurse suggested that I not discuss the game since it seemed to agitate him. So I didn’t mention it again. It took forever for “game-time”, but finally it was time for some Friday Night Lights. About the time the game aired, Kelly and Grant arrived at the hospital. They were staying for the weekend. Before they got checked into their room, I asked them to walk over to the Ronald McDonald House with me to check in. It was dark outside. I had let time get away from me, and besides I never could find a good time to leave Ethan.

**I am not being critical and please do not be angry with the next situation. There must be rules in place for a place like RMH to operate and keep everyone safe. The lady and I ended up being friends and she was always so kind, but this night was tough…

When we arrived, the lady at the front desk seemed to be annoyed that I had waited so late in the day to check-in. She told me that it was almost time for her to go home. I apologized and explained the dilemma. She gave me the rules and told me that under no circumstances were my brother, his wife or their children allowed to stay passed 10 pm. I explained to her that they already had reservations at a local hotel and that I, myself, was not even planning on staying there that night, the room was for my husband and 2 children who would be arriving early in the morning. She then told me that someone had to be in the room by 10:00 pm to stay the night or we would lose the room. The tears fell. I explained to her again that no one was currently at the hospital with my son, and I was the only one who could stay with him at night (he did still have a nurse that stayed in his room with him round the clock), and the room was for my husband and 2 children traveling late at night after my son’s football game. ( I was afraid she might not allow THEM to stay.) I asked her how long I had to stay, and she said all night. I began to UGLY cry. I could not catch my breath or breathe. This was the first time I remember crying after the accident and it ALL fell apart. I couldn’t stop. I went upstairs to catch my breath and try to stop crying. Kelly tried to follow me into the elevator (even though she had been told she was NOT allowed upstairs). I told Kelly it was ok, Give me 15 minutes and I would be back down. (Little sister was ready to hurt somebody. I believe that if I had given any indication for her to proceed, she would have been ALL over that lady.) I needed a minute. When I came back downstairs, the front desk clerk said that she saw I needed a support person and would allow Kelly to stay the night with me. She would notify her supervisor in the morning of her decision. This lady was NOT understanding that I didn’t need anyone to stay the night with me. I NEEDED to get back to the hospital. I NEEDED to make sure Reed and the kids had a place to stay when they rolled into town at 2 am. After I got myself together, Kelly and Grant headed to their hotel, and I went upstairs to serve my time. I took a nap on a real bed. I slept until around 12:30 am. I had not taken my phone to RMH since I had only planned to stay for a few minutes to get checked in, but I had been gone for over four hours. I felt like I had stayed long enough, so I went downstairs to sneak out.

***The next morning Reed was informed by a different clerk that to secure the room for another night, someone just needed to inform the person at the desk each day that we wanted to keep the room, whether anyone stayed that night or not was irrelevant.

We had a new nurse that night. When I got back to Ethan, I check in with his nurse. Blood pressure and temperature had remained good, and there was nothing to report. I checked my phone to see about the game. ZACK HAD SCORED A TOUCHDOWN, AND I MISSED IT! I cried again. I told the nurse about it. He said he had heard it on the radio app on my phone. I had left the game on because I had only planned to be gone a few minutes. He said that it was pretty great. I showed him the picture of Zack after the touchdown from Facebook and how the team had an EM sticker on the back of their helmets. But the best part, in a few hours I was gonna see my kiddos!