Thursday, October 04, 2007

parenting is forever

This may be a long post, and it may ramble a bit, but I have to say what is going on in my heart and head this morning. It is one of those feelings where you feel if you don't get it out, you just might explode. Early this morning, around 1:40 am, our phone rang. That by itself is heart stopping when all of your children are not at home tucked safely into bed. BigD answered and quickly sat up and started talking in his "professional" voice. There is nothing worse than only being able to hear one side of a phone conversation and hearing the words, "unconscious", "ambulance", "hospital" coming out of your husband. His voice that is usually incredibly strong, became a higher pitch, and took on a very worried tone. After a series of questions BigD was asking the person on the other side of the line, I was able to piece together that Son #1 was taken from his dorm where he was found lying in the hall, in his pajamas, confused, disoriented, unaware of who he was or what was wrong. One of his floor mates called for help and the campus police and ambulance were dispatched. The caller was the campus police officer and he told BigD that he didn't think son was drinking that it seemed more like a medical problem-hence the transport to the ER. Husband and son #2 (who woke up when he heard me scrambling for an insurance card and SSN for the ER) took off for the hospital near the college which is about 45 minutes from here. (the only reason I didn't go was that BigD knows his way around all things police and ER related so I knew he could get all the important info and the fact that son#3 was blissfully sleeping and waking him would serve no purpose so I stayed home). Let me tell you, until BigD called about an hour later, I was a series of emotions from terrified, to nauseated from the adrenaline. When BigD called he said son 1 was talking and seemed to be somewhat oriented. On the medical end his blood sugar was very low and they were concerned about that. I had spoken with son1 around 9 pm when he was eating a steak sandwich with double meat (ahhh-campus restaurant food) and seemed fine. There is something about S1 that I have never really posted about because so many of my blog buddies are adopting and I didn't want our story to frighten them away from the most wonderful time in their lives. S1 has a medical condition that ironically didn't show up till he was older and I am so glad that it didn't. Honestly as a potential adoptive mom, had they told me my child would have this disorder, I would have been terrified and I am sure it would have changed the way that I parented him...but as they say, ignorance is bliss so we knew nothing until later..the same as MANY birth parents so I am not "blaming" anything on the fact that S1 is adopted..he is our son, just like the other two..no difference. Anyway--S1 takes a couple of medications to keep him on a constant level so to speak and my guess was that he probably wasn't taking the medication. Then the bombshell. BigD called about 3 am to inform me that son was shit faced drunk. He was able to SOMEHOW not give any indication of intoxication. Even the seasoned police officer was clueless. S1 had a blood alcohol level of .231 (HUGE). He is a scrawny 140 pound kid and it is amazing that he wasn't in serious condition. He confessed to BigD that after he talked to me he went with a group from his evening class and they all celebrated their good grades with a fruity punch that 'someone' made. No idea who made it or what was in it. I have a friend that has talked to her daughter about roofies etc being placed in drinks...I never gave a thought to tell son not to drink anything that wasn't his. (Before you yell at me, I HAVE told him not to drink at all but I am not stupid and I was no angel in college...though he doesn't know that). I am so torn this morning. I am angry, sad, confused, disappointed, worried and the worst feeling of all is that somehow I feel like I let my son down. In my next post, I am going to post a journal entry that a classmate wrote about son1. It was an assignment that had them interviewing each other about something that changed their lives....son1 doesn't know that I read these entries but since they are to publish it in a blog type format, I have access and have been blown away by some of his entries. This particular entry will explain to you why I feel like I have let him down. I just hope he knows how much of my world revolves around my love for him. Nobody ever said parenting was so damn hard...or if they did, I didn't listen.

8 comments:

Rob, Tina and the boys said...

Is S1 ok? How did BigD take it when he realized he was drunk? I can certainly understand why you would be torn. Glad that it was not a medical issue but still upset that it was self inflicted. Man, and here I was thinking my life was hard now that my toddler is crawling and climbing on the kitchen table! :)

DD said...

There will be a whole lot more emotions going on once he recovers quickly, including anger which will make you feel even more guilty. As you said, parenting really is forever and as long as he knows that your support for him in reaching his academic goals and beyond isn't going to waiver, then I hope he realizes his choice to drink was not the best one.

I hope he recovers quickly and that his medical condition doesn't complicate things. As you know, parenting also means letting them bruise themselves. I'm sure he's feeling pretty red-faced about the whole thing.

beagle said...

What a horrible terrifying ordeal. Parenting must be the hardest job on earth and if anyone knew that fully in advance, we'd all be scared off. You love him, you're there for him, you have not let him down.
You're a great Mom!

What happens next? Has it complicated his medical issues or will he be fine physically as soon as his system recovers from the mystery punch?

hope548 said...

Wow, that would have been quite scary! We all do stupid stuff like that, especially boys. My husband did something similar before we were married and landed himself in the hospital. Fruity punch drinks are dangerous because they go down so smoothly! Been there!
Glad it wasn't worse!

Anonymous said...

First of all, I am glad S1 is ok.

You didn't let him down at all. No matter what the entry says.

There were a few times when I should have been in the hospital from extreme intoxication, it is all part of growing up, I guess.

Unknown said...

Most college kids get wasted and no one's the wiser. Maybe this trip to the ER (and all the aggrivation/attention) will be a much needed lesson? Silver lining inserted here??
And looking at your pics, your yard is amazing!! Looks like a place you could maybe, and I mean maybe with 3 sons, catch a moment's peace.

MrsSpock said...

How scary! I hope your son's OK...

PCOSMama said...

Thank God he is ok and hopefully this will be a good lesson learned in the end. Yes, most people party in college, but you have to be very careful when someone else is serving the drinks. If you're just drinking from a big batch of something, anyone could have slipped something in as a 'joke'. College kids are still kids and they just don't think about the harm they could cause.

I'm glad that he confessed - it shows that he trusts you and Big D enough to tell you the truth. You can't have failed him if he knows he can tell you the truth.

Hang in there - hopefully he's doing much better now!