Real Stories From the ER
Yesterday, I had just woken up from an abnormally peaceful nap when Julia came wailing upstairs covered. in. blood.
First of all, the shock of this, I cannot tell you how adrenalin filled my veins. Yet somehow all you can do is jump to action. The first thing your brain is screaming is, "WHAT? What happened?"
I wrapped her into my body. There was blood on her face, arm, hands, hair. She wouldn't let me clean her up.
She had been doing dance moves on the hardwood floors and smacked her face on a coffee table. My husband had just predicted, minutes before the accident, that the coffee table was going to seriously injure someone. He had always hated it, always wanted it gone. He was angry at me because of the table. Anger on top of worry on top of panic. Layers of awful.
As I attempted to soothe the Jooge I was able to see that she had a nice slice into her cheek. It was very clear that we were going to need to make our first ever visit to the ER. It took us awhile to calm her down. There was a viewing of the Lorax to distract. No bake cookies cajoled her into an "adventure" in the car. Our pediatrician sent us to Legacy Emanuel in Portland, though that was one of the furthest hospitals from our house. My husband stayed home with Avery and his visiting parents and my sister-in-law accompanied us, doing kind things like praising my parallel parking. We were seen pretty quickly and did not have to witness any terrible sights in the ER. Had her accident happened the night before we would have been facing the full moon ER chock full of nuts. Had it happened today we would have been standing in line between the victims of household violence common to Superbowl Sunday.
The possibility that she would need stitches (and to be sedated) was quite real. She was semi-cooperative and still blood-stained when the doctor came in and checked her out. He was calm and matter of fact. He had me clean Jooge up and then squirted water in her wound to irrigate it. After more waiting, a complimentary coloring book and the donning of some clear plastic glasses, he applied glue to her laceration, sealing it off with a slick circle. It was a huge relief to be done but of course they still had to take her blood pressure. That's when she began to wail. The mini cuff they finally found squeezed her tightly. She was so ready to be done.
And so, our week ended with a bang. Or, a thud. Well, more like a whack. Our beautiful Julia is sporting a glued circle the size of a nickel on her right cheek. For the first time the thing we were afraid of happened. I am more jumpy and paranoid about the next potential injury.
But she's okay. And when I first saw all the blood, okay seemed worlds away.
First of all, the shock of this, I cannot tell you how adrenalin filled my veins. Yet somehow all you can do is jump to action. The first thing your brain is screaming is, "WHAT? What happened?"
I wrapped her into my body. There was blood on her face, arm, hands, hair. She wouldn't let me clean her up.
She had been doing dance moves on the hardwood floors and smacked her face on a coffee table. My husband had just predicted, minutes before the accident, that the coffee table was going to seriously injure someone. He had always hated it, always wanted it gone. He was angry at me because of the table. Anger on top of worry on top of panic. Layers of awful.
As I attempted to soothe the Jooge I was able to see that she had a nice slice into her cheek. It was very clear that we were going to need to make our first ever visit to the ER. It took us awhile to calm her down. There was a viewing of the Lorax to distract. No bake cookies cajoled her into an "adventure" in the car. Our pediatrician sent us to Legacy Emanuel in Portland, though that was one of the furthest hospitals from our house. My husband stayed home with Avery and his visiting parents and my sister-in-law accompanied us, doing kind things like praising my parallel parking. We were seen pretty quickly and did not have to witness any terrible sights in the ER. Had her accident happened the night before we would have been facing the full moon ER chock full of nuts. Had it happened today we would have been standing in line between the victims of household violence common to Superbowl Sunday.
The possibility that she would need stitches (and to be sedated) was quite real. She was semi-cooperative and still blood-stained when the doctor came in and checked her out. He was calm and matter of fact. He had me clean Jooge up and then squirted water in her wound to irrigate it. After more waiting, a complimentary coloring book and the donning of some clear plastic glasses, he applied glue to her laceration, sealing it off with a slick circle. It was a huge relief to be done but of course they still had to take her blood pressure. That's when she began to wail. The mini cuff they finally found squeezed her tightly. She was so ready to be done.
And so, our week ended with a bang. Or, a thud. Well, more like a whack. Our beautiful Julia is sporting a glued circle the size of a nickel on her right cheek. For the first time the thing we were afraid of happened. I am more jumpy and paranoid about the next potential injury.
But she's okay. And when I first saw all the blood, okay seemed worlds away.
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