An eventful trip to Dallas

We decide to drive to Arlington for Memorial Day weekend because we have some days off. We also had the bright idea of bringing my four-year-old nephew with us. We start off at about 10:30 in the morning. Ai-Vy was still sleeping but we had to go to get some lunch because Ky-An was getting hungry. We stopped off at a restaurant to feed them and hope they'll take a long nap in the car. As soon as we got on the freeway, Ky-An and my nephew, Ethan, conked out. Ai-Vy is bright-eyed from her previous nap.

Ky-An slept for about an hour and woke up and Ethan woke up an 30 minutes later. It was then movie time and Ai-Vy was ready for her nap. Everyone was fine and I was in the back tending to all of them. I was sitting in the middle row with Ai-Vy and the boys are in the backseat. I keep having to turn around and get out of my seat to check if they get enough/too much air. I then give them snacks, and then man the DVD player for them. I start seeing Hieu fidget so I asked him to pull over and I will drive. I warned him he will probably not get much rest in the back either because the kids will want something. He was in the back and was busy giving the boys snacks, toys, or water. Then Ai-Vy starts screaming because she wants her bottle. During this time Hieu was fidgeting with the air vents complain he's not getting enough air and starts breathing deeply.

Suddenly he turns pale an asked me to pull over as he quickly open the van door and lays down. He then tells me through clenched teeth to call the ambulance because he can't move his arms. I called 911 and tell them we are on the side of the highway; my husband can't breathe and can't move his arm. We also have 3 young kids in the car. I was amazingly calm during this time because my main concern is that I don't want to scare the kids. Thank goodness for our navigation unit because I was able to tell the 911 operator our exact coordinates. I asked Hieu to just concentrate on breathing while I stayed on the phone with operator. Within minutes, the color came back to his face and he felt better. The ambulance came at about 15-20 minutes and the boys were so good just sitting there watching their movie while Ai-Vy was occupied with a toy. They took Hieu to the ambulance to check him out and I felt bad that I couldn't go with him. I really wish I could be with him but my logic side took over and I realize I had to stay with the kids.

They told us that he was fine but they would like to take him to the hospital for further testing. That would mean Hieu is going to go off to a hospital at some strange city by himself while I took the kids to Arlington that is still over an hour away. I asked the EMS guy to watch the kids while I ran back to the ambulance to confer with my husband. Hieu said he felt good enough to go to our destination so off we went. The poor kids were in the car for over 5 hours by this time and Ai-Vy was screaming because she's hungry and wanted a bottle or her pacifier. Hieu was sitting in the front seat with me trying to rest and breathe while I was driving. I just kill me to hear her screaming and there is nothing I can do about it. I tried talking to her to calm her down but she was hungry. Hieu finally felt well enough to turn around and give her the pacifier which she immediately spit out because she wants her bottle.

My brother-in-law the met us on the freeway to take Hieu to the hospital in Dallas. It took me another 15 minutes to meet up with him and another 20 minutes to get to my sister's house. By this time all the kids are tired and Ai-Vy is still screaming. Hearing her scream just make the drive so much longer and stresses me out because I wanted so bad to tend to her. We finally got to the house and my sister helped me unload the stuff and feed the kids while I feed and put Ai-Vy to bed. She and I then bathe all 4 kids (her 2 daughters, Ky-An, and Ethan). Hieu and my brother-in-law were at the hospital for 6 hours while they run all the test and even did an MRI. They didn't get home until past midnight and the doctor diagnose him with an anxiety attack and hyperventilation.

The next day we were suppose to go to the mall but Hieu was too tired at the last minute so my sisters took Ky-An, Ethan, and her kids to Chuckee-Cheese. I stayed home to put Ai-Vy to bed because the poor dear was so tired from the night before. Hieu got some rest and felt like himself the next day so we went to Aquarium. I kept a watchful eye on him all weekend and he seem okay so I was confident enough to let him drive on the way back. It was such a scary experience and I am very thankful things worked out well in the end. I had to take two trips to the emergency room with Hieu as the patient but they were not as scary as this. I hope to never ever have to call 9-1-1 again in my lifetime.