ER trip #1

From the title of this post you can imagine all sorts of traumatic scenarios I'm sure. Thoughts of your own ER experience(s) are running through your mind complete with sights, sounds, and smells. I have never had to go to the ER for me personally but I have had to take a few family members from time to time. The last time involved watching my dad get lots of stitches in his leg and it ended with me sitting on the hospital bed trying to breathe so I wouldn't pass out!! This particular trip was for Gus, the first of many to come I'm afraid. While I hope, wish, and pray that it would be the first and last, I just don't see us avoiding it. My little boy is fearless and if it's climbable, and sometimes even if it isn't, he is going to try! This Saturday we had spent the day with Amy and Noah at the river and then at their house playing. We had eaten lunch, bathed, played, napped and eaten supper without major incident all day. However as time to pick up the debri from what looked like the storm of the century, Amy and I saw Gus fall from Noah's child-size rocking chair and his face collide with her end table. We both reacted quickly, me running Gus to the sink to wash the blood away and Amy to get a washcloth full of ice and then me walking outside to fill in J and Amy calling a local doctor for advice. By that time I had lost the adrenaline rush and was crying, Gus however was already trying to climb something else! After calling the after-hours hotline we were instructed to take Gus to the ER and since J was hot, nasty and sweaty he wanted to go home a shower first so Amy drove and stayed with Gus and I until J. got there. If someone would have looked in the truck on the way to the hospital they would have thought we were crazy. We had the dome lights on and "Bear Tunes" blaring, while Amy danced and I sang! We were trying to keep Gus from going to sleep since it was his normal bedtime and the nurse said he shouldn't sleep in case he had a concussion. By this stage I am fighting nausea and trying to put on a happy face for Gus but by the time we were almost there Gus was awake and having fun with my sunglassess.

This prompted a quick verse of "I wear my sunglasses at night" on my part and enough laughing to ease the sick feeling. After asking for directions to the ER, because Amy nor I had ever been to the one they sent us to, we parked and were promptly ushered into the children's waiting room. Overall the wait wasn't bad and the staff was really friendly. Gus did really great I think. He didn't like the name band on his ankle,

the blood pressure cuff on his calf, the pulse "thingy" on his big toe or the nurse and doctor that kept feeling on his hurt lip but all in all he did really good. Once we were given the ok to leave, Gus partaked in a bedtime bottle with daddy, who was smart enough to think to bring one (have I mentioned lately how great he is?).

The doctors never did determine if the teeth had gone all the way through the skin or not and I don't think they wanted to pull the wound open enough to tell and risk making it worse or upsetting Gus. The doctor said if it was her child she wouldn't stitch it because either way it would probably leave a small scar and stitches would be way more traumatic. So we came away with ointment, basically neosporin, and instructions to watch for infection and see our doctor in a week. We were very blessed that it wasn't more serious than it was and I ask all of you to go ahead and add Gus to your daily prayer lists now!

And for your comedy break for the day, this is what Gus looked like when I went to lunch today!

Notice anything odd? He ran out of clothes at Ma'am's house and had to wear Allie's. All lunch break I kept looking at him thinking how weird it was to see him in pink and flowers!! If only you could have seen him riding his pink pony (also Allie's) but thankfully his daddy won't get the opportunity to witness it. Ma'am already had his "boy" clothes in the dryer, so he should be back to normal when I pick him up!!