Pam Halter
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Sit down, Anna
Tuesday, October 16, 2012 by pam

"Sit down, Anna."

"Sit down, Anna."

"SIT DOWN, ANNA!"

I'm tired of saying it. And I don't say it because I'm a mean mommy or because I don’t want her near me. I say it for her safety. But she totally ignores me day after day. Night after night. Week after week. Month after month. Year after year. See, Anna has frequent "head drop" seizures. They happen in a split second. Her head drops forward with such force, it's as though a big hand is shoving it. It happened a few minutes ago. She was standing next to me at the computer, in between her desk and the piano.

"Sit down, Anna," I said.

She ignored me and pointed to the computer screen, which she does all the time and we don’t know why.

"Sit down, Anna," I said again.

CRACK! SLAM!

Her forehead whacked the desk and the back of her head hit the floor. It took a total of two seconds. Literally. Two seconds. And what did I do? I screamed at her. "This is why I keep telling you to sit down! Do you enjoy this? Does it feel good? What the heck, Anna?"

Then I cried. I mean, I WAILED. I probably wept for 10 minutes. Now my eyes and throat hurt and all I want to do is curl up in a ball for the day.

SIGH.

She's okay now; watching Barney and babbling and laughing. Thank the Lord. But I'll feel the effects for the rest of the day. And I'll probably eat a lot of chocolate.


Comments

pam From At 10/19/2012 10:01:05 AM

Thanks, Cindy. God is good!

Cindy Mann From Franklinville, NJ At 10/19/2012 8:59:19 AM

And I worked with the autistic while in college. Thank you for sharing the ""parenting"" side, and being transparent. Love and prayers!

Cindy Mann From Franklinville,NJ At 10/19/2012 8:57:33 AM

My heart is crying for you, my eyes full of tears. I have always admired your strength and tenacity, and have rejoiced in your writing accomplishments ever since the days of Aldine. I can see more of where God has taken you to bring you to Himself and to make you who you are today.

pam From At 10/19/2012 8:34:05 AM

Thanks, Lori!

Lori Hynson From Phoenixville PA At 10/19/2012 7:06:56 AM

Pam, I've never walked in your shoes so I can't know your pain when these daily issues crop up. I will pray for you, friend.

pam From At 10/17/2012 5:04:23 AM

Our kids drive us nuts, don't they? HA!!

Joy Kieffer From At 10/16/2012 9:25:51 PM

I can empathize. Mari came home today with a split lip and bruised jaw from when someone elbowed her and the impact jammed her jaw. I questioned her on concussion symptoms and she tried to hide the headache, not wanting to go back for another CAT scan. Aaargh!

pam From At 10/16/2012 9:27:53 AM

Thank you!

Candy Abbott From Delaware At 10/16/2012 8:50:29 AM

This is the first chance I've had to look at your blog, Pam. Powerful!

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