Yesterday was play-group/walking-group day. I even made rice crispy treats to share with everyone. This meant we didn't have time to walk the one mile down to the park, but our group ended up doing 5 laps (usually we only do 4). Arranged a play date for Eden after lunch. She did about an hour of schoolwork, then we dropped her off. The boys and I came home, I put Jakey down for a nap. Andrew and I did a reading lesson (he's completed 80 out of 100!). I took a much-needed shower (its been HOT here). Andrew and I had popcorn and smoothies for a snack. The house was quiet, and decided to just sit there and eat and talk with Andrew (usually I try to clean up a little, and do other little tasks while eating and feeding the kids). I came to the computer and checked my email while Andrew was talking about all the different things he might choose when he finishes ALL 100 reading lessons (Lego set is at the top of the list currently, but other favorites are Nerf gun, Bakugan, Ben 10, and Mighty Beanz). I sort-of knew that Andrew was tipping his chair back and forth while he talked to me. I was looking at a friends' blog while debating whether to tell him to stop.
Then I heard the crack. The chair was down, and Andrew was screaming. He had hit his head on the edge of our lovely brick fireplace. I quickly looked at the back of his head (hoping that it wasn't too bad- he's had lots of good bumps on the head, but none that broke the skin, until now). I saw what I thought was about a 1-inch-or-so split, but I clamped my hand over it before I got a real good look at it.
As we walked to the kitchen, I realized this was probably going to require stitches or something more than we could do at home. While I got a towel and ice pack (actually frozen corn), I tried to decide what to do- Jake was asleep, Eden is at a friend's house, I don't know where to go. I decided to call the Mom where Eden was (turns out she's an RN), she agreed to take Jacob while I took Andrew somewhere-to-be-determined. I left Andrew holding the towel and corn while I went upstairs to wake up Jacob (who normally takes nice long naps on playgroup days!). We all got in the car, I was feeling pretty calm until Andrew said he felt tired. I thought there's a good chance that had more to do with his late nights lately than with the bump, but it still made me worry a little more.
I dropped Jake off, RN-friend took a look at Andrew's head. The gash was no longer actively bleeding and it was smaller than I had originally thought- 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch instead of 1+ inches. I had grabbed the PCM letter we received recently, assuming there would be contact information for the base clinic. WRONG. Andrew and I head back to our house where I can look up the number for the clinic. The nurse on the phone tells me its and emergency and I should take him to the emergency room, and gives me the location of the nearest one, less than 2 miles from our house (I did already know where it was, just didn't know if I should take him there or not, since it was no not a 'life-or-limb' situation).
Off we went. I was a little worried about how long it might take. RN-friend had suggested an urgent care place might be quicker. But, when I asked the phone-nurse about that, she said that protocol was the emergency room, and I didn't want to risk insurance issues later. The wait ended up not being too bad. Andrew got to watch cartoons, the nurses were all very nice, and when the doctor came to 'fix-it'. Andrew was so distracted by the TV and the grape double-popsicle, that he only grimaced when the staples went in. While we waited a little longer for the discharge papers, Andrew kept asking if the staples were sharp. Avoiding the obvious answer, I told him I didn't see the staples until they were already in his head. When he asked if they looked sharp, I just told him they looked pretty small- over and over and over. Then we were done.
I rewarded Andrew with a Lego set. On our way to the store, Andrew was talking about the whole ordeal, turning it into a major 'fish-tale'. He talked and talked about how brave he was, how it only hurt a little, how it actually hurt kind of a lot but he didn't cry, how he almost had to have surgery, how he almost died..... of course this was all said very matter-of-fact, in true Andrew fashion. It was pretty funny.
Needless to say, this took over the rest of the day. Eden didn't get any other schoolwork done. I didn't do the laundry or cleaning that I was planning on. I didn't make dinner (RN-friend made us a yummy dinner, and even brought brownies over later!). I am so thankful for her help. If Eden hadn't been playing there, I may not have called anyone for help, taking all 3 kids with me instead. (It's hard to ask for help, especially when you don't really have friends yet.) Once Andrew's head was 'fixed', my brain turned off, and I just couldn't think clearly for the rest of the afternoon. These little interruptions and detours to life-as-I-think-it-should-be can be frustrating. What was supposed to be a fun, relaxing day, and quiet afternoon with Andrew turned into drama and chaos. (If only I had been more attentive and stopped Andrew from tipping his chair earlier!) On the other hand, Andrew told me on the way home, "This was kind of like a special date for you and me, huh?"
